


drain you

by chaoticcobra



Category: Sally Face (Video Games)
Genre: ADHD Ashley Campbell, Alcohol Abuse/Alcoholism, Angst, Bisexual Male Character, Developing Relationship, F/F, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Humor, Gay Male Character, High School, Internal Conflict, Internalized Homophobia, Lesbian Character, M/M, Male-Female Friendship, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Slow Burn, Strangers to Lovers, Trans Character, Underage Smoking, autistic sal fisher, ig??? its p much the same but just some things are different ajhdsjkfg
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-03-30
Updated: 2019-04-03
Packaged: 2019-12-26 16:25:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 20,221
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18285959
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticcobra/pseuds/chaoticcobra
Summary: one baby to another says,"i'm lucky to have met you"-an ash x maple fic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> if you're reading this please know i love you and cherish you!!!!!!!! :D  
> please keep in mind i've never exactly written a full on chapter fic before so if updating gets a little wild be patient w/ me. i'll try my best with this 'cause i'm proud of it so far.

If there’s one thing that could absolutely shock you about Ashley Campbell, it’s that she’s extremely secretive. So secretive, that she’s even secretive about being secretive.

Of course, no one would expect it. That’s because, well, she’s so good at hiding it, duh. The more you dig into her, the harder it is to find out the things she hides from everyone. Passionate, caring, darling Ashley Campbell will do anything to keep her secrets from the world as if it was an alien’s buried treasure. But it’s not that she thinks they’ll hurt anyone -- they won’t. She’s more scared about herself getting hurt if you were to dare to find out and ask.

There’s no real reason as to why she keeps certain things about herself hidden. Or, there is, but she doesn’t know. Maybe she doesn’t think about that, because she doesn’t like to, because she’s scared of confronting her truest form of herself. Even Ash herself could not know, that’s how secretive the girl is.

Her friends, her best friends -- they don’t know. But Ash always feels as though Sal has a sneaking suspicion. He just doesn’t ask. And she’s grateful for that. It gets a little awkward when they’re hanging out together, though, and silence ensues. Ash then has to try and avoid feeling like Sal is about to ask her about it, or mention it. Then halfway through she realizes she probably looks stressed or panicked, and then has to try and calm herself down so Sal won’t ask about that, with it leading up to the whole thing she was first worried about and- it's not fun.

So, yeah.

There’s so much secrecy inside Ash that even she isn’t sure of some of it. When she’s alone, she ends up losing herself trying to find it. It’s like sticking your hand out in front of an object that looks like it’s in your hand, or in your reach, when it’s really incredibly far away. Frustrating, to say the least.

If you’ve ever had the problem of dealing with the thought that something could be a part of you, and it greatly uneases you, then maybe you’d understand. Maybe you’ve felt that deep pit in your stomach growing only deeper the more you focus on that specific something. Maybe you’re not scared to confront it, but scared to confront others with it. Scared of reactions, scared of the future.

And you know you shouldn’t be scared, because why be scared of something so simple being a part of you. And then you look back at the past, and realize that oh, shit, that’s why. And now you’re angry and thinking to yourself, well that’s just fucking unfair.

In a perfect world, it would be simple. But this world isn’t perfect. Ash could tell, by who her friends were, by what she’s learned over the years and so much more. Beauty is everywhere, but almost all the time is it hard to pinpoint it.

This world isn’t perfect, because now she’s sitting in the office with the shithead who threw derogatory words at her friends and harassed them. Because she threw a punch, got one in return, threw another, and then it further escalated. Now she’s here.

She holds her chin in the palm of her hand, her elbow resting on her thigh as she’s hunched over. Ash doesn’t pay any mind to the strand of brunette hair that falls on her face. The sound of phones ringing and secretaries talking and students making rounds in the hallways on their spares is all background noise to her. The only thing she can hear clearly is her own breathing, the only thing she can feel is the uncomfortable chair she’s sitting on and the frustrating energy coming off of the piece of shit himself, Travis Phelps.

Then he starts talking and she wants to fucking puke her guts up. But she hears it, loud and clear, unable to avoid it. She feels her ears try desperately to detach themselves from her head and run away so they don’t listen to his bullshit, but they fail. She suppresses a loud groan and instead sighs through her nose.

“Can’t believe I got punched by a girl.” Travis snorts and kicks his leg against the floor carpet. “And it hurt.”

Ash’s brain feels like a hornet’s nest.

“Good,” she says. She wants to say more, but bites her tongue. No need to get in even more trouble than she’s already in.

Travis shifts awkwardly in his seat, turning to look at her. “Look, I’ll spare you the pain of fake-apologizing in the ol’ principal’s office and just say it right now.” Ash eyes him curiously, only seeing a bit of his expression. It’s oddly calm, with little hints of mysterious resentment. “I’m sorry for calling your friends… you know. I really shouldn’t say that.”

She rolls her eyes. “I’m not sorry for clocking you in the face.” She purses her lips, then rethinks her word choice. “Just- it’s, it was a reflex. I don’t know if you know what it’s like to- for them to be part of such a hated group, but if you don’t, then here’s a summary: it can be fucking terrifying.”

Travis’ face went blank. He went silent. He turned away from her to stare at the carpeted floor.

 _Does he know what it’s like?_ Ash thinks, but then counters it with, _probably not._ She bites her lip. But if he did, it would explain why he’s so angry all the time. He’s religious, too, and-

“Is Sal gonna be okay?” she hears Travis ask, breaking her out of her thought process. She’s thankful, surprisingly. But his voice is quieter. “And… and Todd?”

“Todd’s probably just annoyed,” Ash shrugs. Her mind goes to the first friend of hers mentioned. “I’m pretty sure Sal will be okay. Larry will be fucking pissed, though. Just avoid him. You don’t need anymore ass-whooping than you already got.”

“Tell them I’m sorry.”

_...Did his voice break?_

No, no, whatever. She mentally shakes her head. “I’ll- I’ll do that,” she promises. “I’ll make sure Larry doesn’t do anything,” she adds with a small nervous laugh.

“Okay.” Travis still doesn’t move his head up. He gives his one leg a quick kick in the air, not high, just simple.

“...How come you got so defensive, though?”

Ash’s eyebrows shoot upwards and she mentally curses a random god for that question being asked. But then she assumes she didn’t respond fast enough, because now Travis is actually looking at her and awkwardly apologizing. “Sorry, that- that was stupid of me to ask, I-”

“No,” she cuts him off. “It’s fine. It wasn’t stupid.”

She swallows.

“I’d just prefer… not to answer.”

“Oh.” Travis turns his head away and nods slowly. “Yeah, okay. I understand.”

Ash sighs softly to herself. _Nobody needs to know,_ a voice repeats over and over in her head. It’s her own. _Nobody needs to know, nobody needs to know, nobody needs to know. You just gotta let them know how much you care for your friends. It’s a much simpler, more understandable reason._ But for some other reason, she can’t say that to Travis. Not right now. It’s unknown as to why she can’t, but it’s sure as hell frustrating. She purses her lips again and slowly blinks, telling herself this will all be over and she can move on.

She turns her attention in her head to something else. It’s successful, and she’s thankful. And soon enough, they’re met with the principal coming out to call them both in.

He’s tall, face slightly wrinkly, telling how he’s aged and his black hair is fading to a somewhat dark grey. Ash doesn’t trust him, for some odd reason. She never has. She’s pretty sure Travis doesn’t either, by the quick glance he gives her after the man turns to guide them to his office.

It’s soon over, and lunch break has come. As she slams her locker shut, Ash suddenly feels a reassuring hand pressed lightly to her back. She stops and blinks.

She looks over to be met with Sal. It’s easy for her to read the blue-haired boy’s expression despite the mask, seeing how his eyes are glazed over with friendliness and care. Ash can tell he’s offering her a small smile, so she returns it.

Larry comes up behind him. “What the hell happened?” he asks. He looks serious, but there’s tints of amusement in his voice. It becomes more evident once he adds, “you aren’t getting expelled, are you?”

Ash stifles a laugh. “No, no, I’m fine,” she says quickly. “Just got in trouble with Travis.”

Her friend’s eyes widen and his mouth drops. “No way,” Larry gasps. “Did you beat his ass? Did he cry? Why wasn’t I invited?”

“You say ‘invited’ like it was a good thing!” Sal cries, swatting Larry’s arm playfully.

“It was! Ash, did you kill him? Di- oh.” He stops, then laughs. “You’d probably be in way more shit if you did kill him. Because this town hates gay kids.”

“Ha, yeah.” Ash begins making her way to the cafeteria with her friends on either side of her. “I did punch him a couple times. He punched me back, but I started it. He called Sal and Todd slurs, which is what I told the principal. And because I’m a girl and guys shouldn’t get in fights with girls, he got suspended.” She laughed loudly at the last part. “It’s so fucking dumb. I really think I should’ve gotten suspended.”

“What?!” Larry squawks, stopping in the middle of the hallway. Ash and Sal turn to him expectantly. “Ash, you did the right thing for fighting back! That piece of shit deserved it. He can’t just call people that and not expect something to be said or done in return.”

“Guys, calm down,” Sal intervenes. “It’s over now. We wouldn’t be satisfied no matter who got suspended. Yes, Travis gets violent and is hateful, but we shouldn’t initiate it or encourage it. Who knows what his home life is like? A poor one probably causes a behavior as bad as his.”

“I don’t care what his home life is like,” Larry grumbles as they begin to continue walking. “I care about fighting for my friends’ safety and making sure they have the same rights as everyone else.”

With that being followed by silence, Ash assumes the conversation is dropped. They soon find the cafeteria with Ash leading the way. She sighs in slight relief when they’re met with Todd and Neil waiting for them at one of the tables.

“Sal!” Todd calls to the bluenette. “How d’you think you did on the physics quiz?”

“I think I did shit.” Sal laughs as he plops down beside him. “I barely studied.”

“Really? You usually study a lot for tests and stuff.” Todd quirks an eyebrow. “Were you busy?”

Sal eyes Larry for a split second. “Um, yeah,” he mutters, ears turning red. “ _Busy…_ ”

Ash screeches like pterodactyl, laughing loudly. She wheezes when she notices she made Neil jump, barely managing to get out an apology. “Sorry, sorry,” she cackles. Quickly collecting herself, she switches glances between Sal and Larry. “You two really need to get other hobbies.”

“I have other hobbies!” Larry protested. “I paint, I help my mom with shit, I listen to music...” he trails off, searching for more.

“You skip classes,” Neil jokes.

“Yeah!” Larry nods, but then he stops. “Wait- hey!”

Everyone laughs now, rather loudly. Ash was already snickering again by the time Neil had added that in, so she was first to calm down.

“But seriously,” she giggles, “keep your shit with each other away from us. We don’t need to know what Sal does when he’s not studying.”

“Shut the fuck up,” Sal says playfully.

He then averts the conversation back to the quiz, and Ash doesn’t care to listen. She opens her lunch bag and pulls out a ham and cheese sandwich, sighing. Same as always; it’s good, but Ash wouldn’t mind a change. If only she could cook…

Ash takes a bite out of it before she sees Larry turn to her. “Hey,” he says.

“Uh…” she swallows the first bite. “Hey?”

She takes another and smiles when the brunett wheezes. “You wanna come over to my place tonight?” he asks. “Just- we haven’t hung out for awhile. You can stay for dinner if you want.”

Ash blinks in surprise as the offer. Larry is right -- they really haven’t hung out in awhile. It’s felt like a really long time, actually. She realizes how much she misses it rather quickly and nods. It wouldn’t be so bad, not bad at all to spend time with her childhood friend. “Sure.”

“Cool.” Larry flashes a toothy grin. “Sal might stop by. You don’t mind that, do you?”

“Nah,” Ash waves her hand. “Everything’s better with Sal. Also, do you ever regret not wearing your retainer after having your braces removed?”

“Hey!” Larry cries. “That is so mean! Sal thinks it’s cute!”

“Okay, I’ve heard my name mentioned three times in your conversation.” Ash looks over to see Sal staring them down with feigned seriousness in his eyes. “What is it?”

“Ash is being mean about my teeth,” Larry pouts.

“Your dentist should’ve beat your ass!” Ash laughs. “It is cute, but that’s years of work and tons of money wasted!”

She’s not wrong, really. Of course she’s just playing around, but when you actually think about it -- it’s true. Imagine spending thousands of dollars on fixing your kids’ teeth and then he doesn’t even bother with the follow-up to help them stay fixed after it’s done. Sometimes it’s a wonder how Lisa Johnson is still so patient and loving.

Sal just shrugs. “Larry, you know I love you, but Ash is right,” he says with a chuckle. “Still, it’s very cute and I personally wouldn’t change it.”

“Fuck you guys,” Larry mutters, though it’s clear to see he’s enjoying the playful banter.

“What?! I said it’s cute!” Sal exclaims. Ash giggles at the aggressive look in his eyes, the rest of his true expression hidden by his prosthetic.

It continues more lightly, and then the group of friends shift to different subjects. Before Ash knows it, lunch is over and it’s time for afternoon classes. It’s all easy-going classes, thankfully. So it’ll be over in no time and then Ash can go to Larry’s for the evening afterwards.

She spends most of her time throughout all her classes doodling mindlessly in her notebook.

As the schoolday draws to a close, she grabs her stuff from her locker quickly and goes to find Larry. She spots him pulling his fluffy sweater on and giving Sal a hug and quick peck on the boy’s masked forehead. She smiles. She’s so happy the two are now dating, open with their feelings, even if shitheads like Travis try to ruin it. They hold an unbreakable bond, and Ash wants nothing more than for them to be happy. They make her happy, too.

She’s there in time to give Sal a quick hug and goodbye. When he leaves, she turns to Larry.

“All set?”

“Yep!” He swings on his backpack and they start making their way out the other school door together. “You’re staying for dinner, right? I hope!”

Ash hums. “Yeah, I am.” Her mind reflects on past times she’s spent dinner at Larry’s place. Then she’s suddenly starving for something made by Lisa. That woman can cook anything and it can be amazing. “ _Please_ tell me it’s spaghetti night.”

“Aw, dude, you haven’t been to my place in so long,” Larry snorts. “That’s been changed to Saturdays.”

“What the fuck?! Noooo!” Ash whines, stomping her feet on the now-outdoor grounds. She groans and Larry continues laughing. “What is it for tonight, then?”

“Nothing specific.” The brunett shrugs. “She’ll probably expect us to make something. If you’re in the mood for fries and chicken fingers, like I am, then that’s what we’ll make.”

“Hmmm…” Ash thinks. “Okay, hell yeah. I’m in.”

“Great!”

They walk in silence for a couple heartbeats. Then, Larry kicks the ground and goes ahead of Ash, now walking backwards and facing her.

“I’ll race you there,” he challenges.

“You? Race me?” Ash scoffs. “No way, dude. Your legs are lanky as shit and I literally won first place in track last year.”

“Fuck you, I’m racing you.” And with that, Larry turns on his heel and sprints farther ahead of her.

Ash sighs. “Sprinting first-thing is such a mistake, dude!” she calls, then begins to run after him at her own pace, though it’s still fast.

She feels adrenaline pulse through her body, in a way that makes her feel so much younger, like she’s back in her first year of middle school. Ash and Larry used to always race each other to their homes, and it was so much fun. She can tell tonight will bring just as much fun, though, and lets her excitement take control of her body as she speeds up to run ahead of Larry.

“So unfair!” Larry yells behind her, laughing.

“Say what you will, twig boy,” she yells back.

 _Yeah. Tonight will be fun,_ she thinks.

She missed this.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash and Larry hang out. Sal eventually stops by. A lot happens, sort of.

Surprisingly, Ash had not thought even once about Lisa's reaction to her visiting after so long.

The woman's hair had gotten just a small bit grey and it was clear to see that she was aging. But still, her eyes and smile and loving voice were all the same and she was overjoyed to see Ash.

“Ashley, is that you?” she gasped once Larry and Ash stepped inside the apartment. She made her way over to the brunette. “Oh, my goodness! You are so much taller!”

“Hehe, hi, Lisa,” Ash says, smiling brightly at her. She's then suddenly pulled into a hug, and squeaks, but hugs back, engulfed in the motherly warmth coming off Lisa.

“It's so good to see you, darling.” Lisa pulls away from the hug, turning to Larry and giving his shoulder a quick tap. “You ought to be treating her like a guest tonight, Lar-Bear.”

Larry groans, his face flushing with light red. “Mooom, don't call me that in front of my friends, please.”

“I'll call you whatever I like,” his mother swats him playfully. She turns back to Ash, who chuckles at the short bicker. “If you need anything, Larry's the man. Or always feel free to help yourself, dear.”

“Okay. Thanks, Lisa.” Ash gives a strong nod as the friendly woman leaves the two to be by themselves. She slowly turns over to Larry, whose face is still flushed. Stifling a laugh, Ash says, “so...she still calls you that, huh?”

“We do not speak of that,” the tall male hisses out. Ash snorts.

“C'mon, show me your room, dude,” she says, tugging his wrist as she heads for his bedroom. “Haven't seen it in so long. Probably looks-”

She's cut off by the sheer awe of the bedroom. It was once almost completely bare walls with toys and drawing supplies never fully put away. Now, the walls are covered in band and movie posters, drawers covered in stickers and an easle standing right by Larry's messy bed. There's paint stains on the floor and empty bags of junk food by the trashcan, probably having been thrown but missed.

The floor is the same rugged carpet-y fabric, and the walls are the same color, too. Though if Larry wanted to, he would've painted them black. Ash knew that much just by looking at them.

“Wow,” was all she could say, as she made her way further into the bedroom. She stopped by the easle, looking at the painting in front of her.

“Yeah, I guess it's changed a lot since last time you'd been here,” Larry says, chuckling. “It still isn't much. I'd change it up more if I could, but my mom would-”

“Did you paint this?” Ash asks.

She looks over to Larry, who meets her eyes and then glances at the painting.

“Oh, yeah,” he nods.

It's mostly painted black, with yellow and purple lighting shining down on a messy pile of what looks to be rose petals. Its stem is lying in front of it, cut off by the end of the canvas, thorns visible. The surface it lays on is lighter, a more grey color. It all appears very gritty, yet smooth and light. Ash is more than impressed- she's amazed.

“It's really good.”

She doesn't see it, but Larry smiles. “Thanks,” he says. “Obviously still a work in progress. But, it means a lot coming from you.”

“From me?” That catches her attention, and Ash turns to him.

“Well, yeah, because you taught me almost all you know about art,” Larry explains. “You're like an inspiration for me.”

“Aw.” Ash grins. “That's so sweet.”

Larry laughs. “Wanna see something Sal drew?” he asks, reaching into a bin and pulling out a sketchbook. “He didn't think it was that great, but I do. I think you'll love it.”

“Let me see!”

Ash has to slightly crane her neck as Larry flips the pages of sketches to find Sal's. Then, it's there, and he shows it to her. She takes the sketchbook in her own hands and stares at it intently, taking it in.

Drawn entirely with pencil. Messy, sketchy, beautiful. It's a night sky with a lone figure standing atop a hill, a streetlight in the distance being the only light with the exception of the moon and stars. The moon is a crescent shape. Ash looks closer, and she notices the moon looks more like sharp teeth. The stars look like eyes from the way they're positioned. The sky is sketchily colored in and hand smudges are visible on where the hill was drawn.

How could Sal not think this was good? It was beautiful. It was like, to Ash, a sneak peek into what his mind looks like if it were its own world.

She slowly looks up at Larry, who's still taking it in as well. He looks back at her and smiles. “It's good, huh?” he says.

“It's amazing.” Ash drums her fingers on the paper lightly. “Can I keep it? I love it so much.”

Larry blinks in surprise. “Ah- sure, I guess?” he shrugs. “Where are you gonna put it?”

“On the inside of my locker door,” Ash says quickly.

“Wow, alright, got that one figured out quick.” The brunett giggles as Ash carefully tears the drawing out of the sketchbook.

She unzips her backpack to carefully place it inside. “I don't get how Sal doesn't think his art is good,” she rambles. “It's so beautiful!”

“Yeah, I say that to him.” Larry's voice grows low and a little sad. “We don't see this side of him a lot, but he tends to carry a lot of self doubt when it comes to certain things. This is one of them.”

“Poor guy,” Ash frowns. “Maybe he'll feel better about it when he sees I have it with me.”

“Maybe.”

Silence hangs in the air between them. Larry moves over to sit on the edge of his bed. Ash bites the inside of her cheek, clutching her backpack. She then eases up, zipping it back closed and putting it back onto her shoulders. She enjoys the feeling of its weight pressed against her, for some odd reason; it’s comforting, or relaxing. She can’t tell. Probably both. Everyone always tells her that she’s welcome to take it off or put it aside, but she insists she’s fine, because she is.

It’s a part of her ADHD where she needs some sort of stimulation, this being in the form of weight. The only person who really gets it is Sal, being that he’s autistic. High functioning, that is. Sometimes they let each other borrow one’s fidgets. Sal has lots of them, usually being the one who lets Ash borrow some. She especially likes the zipper bracelets and water-filled glitter bracelet. Sal has a chewable necklace, but only one of them, which he’s very well used before, so Ash doesn’t see it as very polite to ask to borrow that one.

It’s nice to have someone who understands you.

“Ash?” Larry’s voice snaps her out of her thoughts, and she looks over to him. His expression is curious yet almost clouded with worry. “You good?” he says, with a small amused smile.

“Huh?” Ash blinks. “Yeah, I’m good. Just thinking.”

“That’s unusual.” Ash fakes an offended gasp and swats his arm. Larry laughs. “Okay, sorry. But that’s what you get for insulting my teeth!”

“I wasn’t wrong!”

Larry waves his hand to let it go, chuckling quietly. Ash huffs and plops herself down beside him. She watches as he turns to pull open a drawer filled with video games. Larry shuffles through it, humming in thought to himself, but a moment later he stops abruptly and she hears the sound of one being taken out. She glances over to see that it’s Super Mario 64.

Meeting eyes with Larry, Ash flashes a quick smile and a thumbs up. The brunett returns the hand gesture and grabs his Nintendo 64, taking no time to set up the game on the small console.

“You remember how to play?” he asks, not looking up.

Ash snorts. “Pffsh, ‘course I do, dude.” She kicks up a leg and crosses it over her other. She then hunches her back a little, smiling. “Can you uh… play first though? I’ll be… um… rusty.”

There’s a pause. Then, it’s resumed by Larry giving a small laugh. “Sure.”

Ash leans in to watch him play, humming in thought every so often. She assumes he’s played it recently with Sal.

“You’re good,” she compliments, after watching him play for a bit.

Larry shrugs. “It’s simple,” is all he says. Ash eyes him playfully as he offers her the Nintendo 64. She takes it slowly and then relaxes, playing it enthusiastically. The familiar music of the game brings her back to a couple years ago when she first played it with Larry. When they were much younger, laid back kids.

_ “Aaaaassshh, you’ve been playing for so long now,” Larry pouts. “Lemme play! It’s mine.” _

_ “But it’s so fun,” Ash giggles, looking over to him. She then stops, seeing the pleading look in his eyes. She groans and lazily offers it to him. “Okay, fine. Gosh, you’re such a baby.” _

_ “Yay!” Larry snickers and revels in his turn to play the game, bringing it close to his face. It’s almost as though he’s blocking out every other thing and person from being visible to him. _

_ Larry’s weird, Ash thinks. But a good kind of weird. They have a lot in common, they have a lot they don’t have in common. But they’re good friends, holding a friendship Ash would never want to lose. She knows Larry like she knows art. _

_ How well does Larry know her? Ash isn’t sure. _

_ “Ash?” _

_ She’s pulled out of her thoughts to look back at Larry, who has the Nintendo 64 resting on his chest. He looks at her curiously. _

_ “Ya okay?” he asks. _

_ Ash blinks, silent for a moment. Then she finds her words and smiles. “Yup,” she says cheerfully. “I’m good, Lar.” _

_ She is, she’s good, just thinking. _

Her mind returns back to current time, and she’s still playing the game. She notices Larry chose to continue his painting while she plays. His brow is furrowed in concentration. He looks kind of silly, Ash thinks. She huffs a small chuckle and he perks his head up to look at her curiously. She then laughs.

“What?” Larry says, confused.

“You just look silly,” Ash says through giggles. “Sorry, continue.”

Larry grins, looking back at his painting. He then sets the brush down and sighs, slowly getting up. “Nah,” he says. “I’m hungry. You?”

Ash watches him make his way towards the door, then gets up herself and does so as well. “Yeah, me too actually.” She follows him out of the bedroom and the two make their way into the kitchen. She’s suddenly reminded of when she’d spend the evenings here, in the late summer, having Lisa teach her and Larry how to properly use the stove.

It was scary having Larry do it, mainly because the boy can be so reckless sometimes. Along with Lisa repeatedly telling Larry to be careful making it all the more stressful. But Ash couldn’t blame her. Luckily Larry got it right and the stress was over in no time, only being there to be played off as a joke afterwards.

She pulls open the top door on the fridge, shuffling through boxes of frozen foods. She quickly finds the clear bag of fries and chicken fingers, carefully taking them out and placing them on the counter. Closing the door, she looks to Larry who takes out two pans, both streaked all over with previous uses. He turns the stove on and pours a good-sized amount of fries onto one of the pans, then pours an almost-equal amount of chicken fingers onto the other.

After shoving it into the oven, Larry pulls back and closes it, dusting off his hands. Ash gives a quick nod. “Nice,” she says, giving her friend a thumbs up.

Larry flashes her a quick smile. Then, faint buzzing and static comes from his bedroom. He perks up and looks to it, door open. There’s a brief pause, and then, Ash hears the familiar voice of Sal from the room.

“Ah, shit, the walkie talkie,” Larry mutters quickly. He dashes off into the bedroom to pick it up and comes back out, responding. “Sorry, Sal. I didn’t hear you, I was in the kitchen. ‘Sup?”

“I said,” Sal starts, sounding impatient, “Gizmo is such a fat fucking baby and I love him. He won’t stop watching shitty soap operas though and I’m bored. Can I come down?”

Larry eyed Ash tiredly. Ash snorts in amusement, giggling like a child, and the male sighs. “Yeah,” he rasps. “Ash is here, though.”

“Ash? Ashley? Campbell?!” Sal’s voice immediately gets excited and he squeals. “I’ll be down there in like, 30 seconds!” His voice goes a little fainter, as if he’s turned his head, and he adds, “bye, Gizmo. Enjoy your shitty soaps, you fat little goblin baby. I love you. Bitch.”

And with that, the walkie talkie goes silent. Larry doesn’t bother to respond as he sets it down on the kitchen counter and Ash bursts into insane laughter. Clutching her sides, she manages to hear Larry groan over her cackling.

“He’s so fuckin’ wild,” he says, with the faintest hint of amusement. He huffs and a cheesy grin grows on his face. “I love him.”

“Me too,” Ash wheezes, slowly calming down.

In a matter of no time, a couple knocks on the door sound from outdoors. Larry pulls away from leaning against the counter and Ash watches as he pulls open the door, revealing Sal. He’s sporting one of Larry’s bomber jackets that was rarely ever worn, his hair still in pigtails. Sal looks over to Ash and she can see his bright sapphire eyes go wide as he runs towards her. He stops in front of her and waves.

“Hey!” he chirps. “What’re you doing here?”

“Larry invited me at lunch,” she explains. “I haven’t been here in so long. Also, we’re making fries and chicken fingers if you’re interested.”

“Oh, I am so interested,” Sal insists, his voice practically ringing with happiness. “We don’t hang out together a lot, all three of us. That’s why I’m so excited.”

Larry nods. “Understandable.” He leads the other two back into his room where they all sit and relax, Sal picking up where Ash left off on the game, Larry continuing his painting and occasionally going to check on the food, and Ash painting her nails.

“What color should I pick?” she asks, to no one in particular. She sorts through her colors: Red, blue, purple, green, yellow, orange, black, white, and pink. There’s many more, but those are the basic ones. She’d rather just choose one of the basics than go too complex.

“Ooh! You should do, um,” Sal pipes up, then thinks for a moment, “...purple!”

“Purple?” Ash looks up at him, tilting her head. “I did that last time…”

She sees Sal’s eyes squint, as though his brow furrows. He searches for another color, like it’s on the tip of his tongue or right under his nose but he just can’t find it. But then he does.

“Blue.” His eyes, also blue, are wide and shimmery. Ash laughs at how fascinated he is, though she understands and very well agrees. Blue is definitely a beautiful, rich color. Because come on, Sal’s eyes and hair are both blue! Different shades, yet blue! And Sal is beautiful.

She nods quickly. “Okay, I’ll do blue,” she pops open the nail polish lid, setting it down and moving the little brush around, getting a strong amount of blue.

As Ash begins to paint her right hand, starting on her pinkie, Larry pauses his painting to speak. “You guys do realize that we’re gonna have to eat soon, right?” he says, ending it with a laugh.

“I like eating cold food,” Ash replies, not looking up as she moves to her next nail.

“That’s... gross,” Larry mutters. “Unless it’s pizza. But whatever.”

“Cold pizza is a blessing,” Sal nods. “I’ve never had cold fries though.”

Ash snickers quietly. She eyes Sal for a second before looking back at her hand. “You are missing out, my good sir,” she tells him, and he chuckles as well. She’s now onto her middle finger. “Should I paint my middle fingernails red?” She looks up to glance to Sal then Larry, seeing them look at her wildly.

“Oh! You mean, like,” Sal gives her an example middle finger. “Like, fucking stop?”

“Yeah,” Ash nods.

“You guys are apeshit.” Larry sets his brush back into the cup of paintwater, getting up. He huffs and flexes his fingers, making his way out the room. “I think the food’s done.”

“Nooo,” Ash whines. “I’m not even done my first hand yet.”

“Then you get cold food, because you like it, ‘cause you’re a-” Larry pauses from the kitchen, then his voice booms in a raspy scream, “FREAK!”

Ash and Sal burst into giggles. “Fuck you, Larry!” she yells back, sticking up her red-painted middle finger, even though he can’t see it from here. Sal wheezes at that, his eyes shutting tightly before he starts to recollect himself.

Minutes pass and Larry comes back with two plates of food. He gives one to Sal and sets one down in front of Ash, going back to grab one for himself. He returns with it in his hand and he sits down on the edge of his bed, next to Sal, while Ash is on the floor in a criss-cross-applesauce position, focused intently on painting her nails.

It’s rather silent, for a moment that feels a little too long. Ash feels like spiders are crawling up her back, skittering over her shoulderblades under her sweatshirt and she tries to ignore that feeling. But she assumes Sal feels that way too, seeing from how she eyes him his legs go tense and he digs his nails into them. Larry seems to be more calmly in thought, though his back is hunched.

Ash so desperately wants to break the silence, because she’s not sure if she wants to know what they’re thinking about or if she doesn’t want to know. But that’s quickly interrupted by Sal’s voice, low and soft, breaking the tension like scissors slicing easy through an electric wire.

“What did Travis say to you?”

It drops like an acid-filled water droplet, plunging itself down through Ash’s scalp and into some unknown part of her brain. Her hornet nest of a brain. She feels her eyes widen and her shoulders tense up, arms pressing to her sides as she holds the brush with nail polish in her one hand. She feels awkward sweat somehow form on her fingertips and slick the brush, yet she holds it still in her hand, perfectly.

She looks up to Sal, who wasn’t looking at her before, but now he is. Ash sees his sapphire blue eyes lose their spark and flame, now looking at her with a rather smoky blue color. He blinks slowly and she feels like he can see right into her soul, into her mind, into every single piece of her no matter how much she’s hidden certain things away from everyone. She feels like Sal could be the only one to ever know the things she hides…

_ How did it get so serious so fast? _

Unknown to how much time has passed, Sal is still looking at her, and Ash snaps out of it. She meets his steady gaze with her own, also steady gaze, pursing her lips for a moment before speaking.

“He… wanted you both, a-and Todd to know that he’s sorry,” she stammers. “He just hopes you’re okay.” She looks up at Larry, who’s looking ahead of him at the blank, awkward wall, and adds, “and Larry, I’m not telling you this because he told me to. But please don’t go harass him tomorrow if you see him around the school or anywhere. I dealt with him.”

“He just pisses me off,” Larry growls, clenching his fists. “He calls you a bitch and so much other bad shit. He calls Sal and Todd- that! But he can’t post up and talk shit to me. He’s scared of me. It’s good, but I wish he would fuck right off and not say shit to my friends and my boyfriend.”

He wraps an arm around Sal’s side in a quick protective manner, gently tugging him close. Sal shifts more comfortably into the contact, sighing under his prosthetic.

Ash finishes her one hand and sets the brush back into the nail polish container, letting it dry before moving onto her other. “He pisses me off, too,” she agrees. “I mean, I threw the first punch. He even admitted to it hurting. But fuck, maybe Sal is right. Maybe he does have a shitty home life that affects his behavior towards others. We don’t know. We can’t excuse it, but there has to be a reason why he’s so mean.”

“Like I said earlier today,” Larry sighs, “I don’t care if there’s a reason for it or not. I just want him to fuck off. Sal, you always say it’s nothing. But it’s something to me. I hate seeing you let people talk shit to you or about you.”

“Don’t drag me into this,” Sal mutters. “Please.”

“ _Travis_ dragged you into this because he thinks it’s fine to fucking insult you!” Larry argues, keeping his voice steady and as quiet as he can. It’s not that quiet. “You always let people hurt you and degrade you! You don’t deserve it! None of us deserve to be degraded except the people who do the degrading. I’m keeping you in this problem because you’re a victim of Travis’ shitty behavior. He targets you with it the most.”

“Maybe he’s…” Ash pauses, looking up at the two boys. “Jealous? Ah-”

_ That wasn’t the right word. _

“Why the hell would he be jealous of me.” Sal’s voice is growing with irritation, and he slowly takes off his mask, putting it down on the bed. He rests his scarred face in his hands. “I don’t want anyone fighting anyone. We already have this cult shit. Just let it go.”

“I won’t let it go, Sal,” Larry insists. “He’s hurting you. Don't you see why I'm so worried? I just want you and all of us others to be safe. Ple-”

“Larry, fucking let it go!”

Ash watches as Sal aggressively raises his head, shooting a look at Larry that she can’t see. But it’s probably a look of pleading and anger. Larry’s expression softens and he goes quiet, frowning. Sal goes back to bury his head in his hands, and Ash sees… teardrops? Is Sal crying…?

Her question is answered with a yes when Sal looks to her, tears flowing from his working eye and falling from his fake one. He sniffles and pushes hair out of his face.

“I’m sorry,” Sal whimpers. “I probably ruined this.”

“What?” Ash gasps, reaching over to scoop Sal into a hug. He weighs nothing to her as she holds him close, rubbing small circles into his back. “No, no Sal. This is all really frustrating. I understand.”

Larry stands and rubs the back of Sal’s head with his one hand, running fingers through his hair. “I won’t do or say anything to him,” he promises.

Sal pulls away and rubs his eyes. Larry reaches for a box of tissues and hands it to him once Ash places him back down on the bed, giving the crown of his head a gentle pat.

Ash has never seen Sal get so emotional with her around before. It’s painful to see him cry, but she bets Larry has seen him cry much more. That hurts her just a little more, but she’s glad Sal can be so open around Larry. As fierce and protective as the brunett is, he radiates a warmth that makes you feel safe.

Sal decides to go on with eating his food, and they all silently agree to drop that conversation. Larry picks up another one, much less serious, about which Disney Princess movie was least accurate to its’ original story.

“It’s clear to see Snow White was inaccurate as shit,” he argues, waving his hand about as he speaks. “But that’s probably because it was too graphic for them to actually put all the correct stuff in.”

“Pocahontas was the least accurate, dude, what are you even saying,” Ash sneers playfully, earning a small laugh from Sal. She’s glad to see he’s already feeling a bit better. “They got everything wrong. It’s quite gross actually.”

“What did they get wrong that could possibly be more inaccurate than Snow White?” Larry gapes, eyes wide. He then relaxes against the bed and smirks. “Go on, tell me, dear Ashley.”

“Of course, Lawrence,” Ash says, laughing shortly to herself. “So, one of them is that-”

She’s cut off by Sal squawking out in amusement, the almost inhuman noise high-pitched. He erupts into a fit of laughter. She’s startled by it, snapping her head over to stare at him in surprise. She’s also never really seen his face when he’s laughed.

He looks so friggin’ cute. Jeez, Ash can certainly see how Larry loves this kid. Even if she only loves Sal platonically, she completely understands.

“What’s so funny, Sally?” Larry asks, grinning.

“I n-neveahahah knew youhohohor full name wahas L-” he cuts himself off, cackling again before coughing. He manages to choke out, “Lawrence!!” before wheezing and laughing again.

“You never knew?!” Ash gasps, mouth hanging open in shock. Her lips tug into a smile that forms into a shit-eating grin and she giggles. “Oh, man, this is rich.”

“Wha- oh noooo,” Larry groans, shaking his head. “Sal, you better not publicly expose me tomorrow.”

“You just gave him that idea, you peabrain!” Ash cries.

“FUCK!” Larry grunts, punching his leg with a loosely clenched fist. “Sally, please don’t say anything. Please, I am begging.”

“I won’t,” Sal says after a moment. He’s calm. Then, he smirks. “I promise… Lawrence.”

He giggles quietly and Larry grumbles in fake annoyance. Ash just smiles and moves back to painting her other nails, seeing that her first are all dry. It’s a soft baby blue, like Sal’s hair, and she honestly kind of digs it. With the exception of her middle finger being red. She likes it for that too, though.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thAT WAS A RIDE im sorry JHEJFKDGG  
> it was p long sorry about that :( at least, its long to me  
> currently working on ch5 still so.. ya. hope u enjoyed this :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travis reappears and he and Ash have a bit of a chat. It's awkward. Not too much ensues afterwards, but something is revealed later at the end.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> not much happens this chapter other than the interactions between travis and ash and ash and her lil brother ben!

A couple more hours had passed through the evening and it was time for Ash to head on home. Thankfully she doesn’t live too far away, she’s more than able to walk home. Larry offered to join her but Ash rejected him politely, trusting herself that she’ll be fine.

She makes her way into the elevator nearby, pressing the Main floor button. Soft, calming music plays as the elevator begins to rise upwards from the basement. As Ash subconsciously begins to tap her foot to the rhythm, her mind wanders off elsewhere.

_ How did it get so serious so fast earlier? _ is what she can’t stop thinking. Sal really didn’t want to be involved in this, at all. But Ash knew Larry was right in what he was saying, and she knew Sal knew it too. Sal can’t help but be dragged into this as long as Travis continues his harassment. And it’s only understandable for Larry to drag him farther into it if he really wants justice served. Larry promised he wouldn’t do anything, and hopefully he’d keep his word to it.

Ash hoped he would, not because she would be worried if he didn’t, but because she’s worried for Sal’s reaction. She didn’t see his face but she knew by the way Larry went silent that he was very angry, or at least, frustrated. She understood that, too.

_ It’s difficult when you understand both sides. _

Her mind is taken back to where she is in real time when the elevator stops. It feels abrupt, but if she wasn’t thinking so intently, it wouldn’t feel that way. Ash huffs through her nose as the elevator door opens and she walks out, pushing open the building door and leaving.

A chill that she’d never noticed before seemed to leave her the instant she set foot outside the building. It was weird, but she shrugged it off.

It’s dark outside, the black sky above being slightly covered with blotchy clouds in different shades of grey. Streetlights illuminate the sidewalks on both sides and it’s calm, no wind or even a slight breeze ruffling it. Everything is still, almost as if the cement from the sidewalks had grown its own mind and wrapped everything else around itself. A spooky, unpleasant thought that would normally send a chill down your spine, but for Ash it’s nothing. Just another fun little thought. Maybe she could draw it out later, or in art class tomorrow.

She makes her way along the sidewalk, her ears taking in the sound of her sneakers scratching the old cement ground. She longs to walk on grass, but the only grass she sees belongs to people’s lawns, and she doesn’t want to be impolite. Not too impolite, that is.

One house she passes by still has Christmas decorations up.  _ But it’s April, _ Ash thinks.  _ Well, maybe some people just don’t bother. _ It can be a lot of work depending on who owns the place. They’re lit up, a snowman bouncing awkwardly. Its beady, black balloon eyes stare right into Ash’s soul. It’s so strong that now she’s starting to feel just a little unnerved.

She decides to keeps walking.

Cars occasionally pass by the streets she walks down. Sometimes she flashes the people in the passenger seats friendly smiles, other times she doesn’t. She shoves her hands into her sweater pockets after fixing her backpack straps, deciding that maybe she should walk a little faster. She has no watch on her, no way of telling time other than the bright moon that hangs in the sky. It’s a crescent moon, like the one in Sal’s drawing.

Unfortunately, there are no stars. She would have to go way out of town to be able to see them.

She looks back down at the sidewalk and turns to go down the other direction, seeing Phelps Ministry not too far up ahead. Her mind gravitates towards Travis and she cringes internally. To her lack of surprise, once she’s closer to the building, she sees him sitting on the bench advertising it, right by the sidewalk.

“Hey,” Ash calls to him. He perks his head up, like he’s afraid, but she sees him relax quickly.

“Ugh, hi,” Travis bites the inside of his cheek and he looks down at the grass, darkened by the nighttime. “What are you doing here?”

“Gonna finally pray to Jesus,” she jokes, but Travis shoots her an annoyed glance and her smile fades. “Sorry.”

“It’s fine.”

Travis kicks the ground softly with the tip of his shoe. Ash shifts from one leg to the other uncomfortably. “I was just heading home from Larry’s place,” she says. “That’s about it. I didn’t expect to stay so late, but whatever.”

The blonde boy only replies with a grunt, and then silence. Ash stands around, feeling awkward, but also feeling like she should make conversation with Travis. So, she does.

“What about you?” she asks. He looks up at her expectantly. “What’re you doing here?”

“Just thinking,” Travis shrugs his one shoulder. Ash sits down next to him, but keeps a bit of distance. “I… I still feel really bad about today. My dad is pissed.”

“He is, huh,” Ash murmurs. Travis nods. “I feel kind of weird about everything, too. Larry isn’t going to say or do anything to you, though. Sal made him promise.”

“Oh, okay,” Travis nodded, meeting her eyes for a moment. “I respect that.”

“Just,” Ash searched for words, “try not to, you know, use those words on Sal or Todd or any of us again? If you do, there’ll be more trouble. None of us want that.”

“Yeah. I won’t.”

“Thanks.”

More silence, with the exception of faint moving and honking cars from streets farther down. Ash parts her lips and a sigh escapes her, feeling the still night air crawl back inside her. She looks down at her hands and fumbles with them.

“Can I ask you a question?”

The words come out like you slip on ice. But it doesn’t hurt Ash when she asks.

Travis looks at her, expression unreadable. “Shoot,” he replies, voice monotone. It’s strange, Ash thinks. But she continues.

“Is there a specific reason,” she starts, “aside from you being religious, that you’re so mean to us?”

She can see from the corner of her eye that Travis was expecting that question, but still tenses up. He exhales through gritted teeth and grips his open palms on the bench, shifting his position just a little.

Ash doesn’t regret asking the question. She knows it could be a little invasive, but this is Travis, someone who had tormented her friends and her for years. She has always wanted to know, and now she has the chance to. So she’ll take what she can get.

But all she gets, for a long, long moment, is silence. She feels slightly frustrated, biting her bottom lip, chewing on it absentmindedly as she thinks about what’s coming. Then, it arrives.

“My dad,” Travis finally says. He stops for a minute, shutting his eyes to think. He opens them again, slowly, his mouth dropping open to speak again. “He’s always put the pressure on me that… that being gay or, having any same sex or gender attraction at all is wrong. And… he can get really angry sometimes. So he hurts me… s-some- no. Not just sometimes. Um, a lot. Because I…”

He stops.

“You’re gay?” Ash asks. She sees him flinch, and if she’s being honest, it’s kind of heartbreaking. No one deserves to feel shame in that.

Travis slowly nods. “I guess I just, have a hard time dealing with all these emotions,” he explains, “that I take it out on others, like you and your friends. I’m jealous because your friends can all have accepting parents, you all have each other. That’s all I’m jealous of. I know it’s not right, to blow up at you guys. It just happens. I’m really, truly sorry.”

Ash can only stare. She doesn’t know what to say. She did have some suspicions of abuse, but…  _ Travis  _ being  _ gay? _ Surprisingly, that one didn’t cross her mind at all. She thought he was just a hateful person using his religion to excuse it, like his father. But she should’ve known better than to assume.

She blinks, and then a moment later, she’s met with Travis turning to her completely, brown eyes giving her a pleading look. “Please don’t tell anyone,” he begs, “I’m so scared of my dad finding out I’ve told people. Or even one person.”

“I won’t,” she says, giving him a small smile. It’s awkward, but she means well. She puts a hand on his shoulder. “If you need anything, I’m here for you. I know it’s weird to say that in the same day that I nearly broke your nose, but now that I know this stuff, I mean it.”

“Th...thanks,” Travis says, returning the small smile. It’s weak and fragile, and Ash can’t help but feel bad.

She realizes all Travis wants is an accepting friend. And she wouldn’t call herself his friend, not yet- but someone who has just developed a mutual respect for him. A tolerance of some sort.

“Well,” she sighs, getting up from the bench. “I’d better be on my way. I don’t have any way of telling time, so-”

“Ah, it’s ten,” Travis cuts her off.

“Oh shit! Yep! Gotta go!” Ash gasps, fighting back a mini panic attack. “Bye!” She runs off without looking back, but knows Travis said a goodbye in return.

Once she’s closer to her house, she slows down, catching her breath.

Today was… certainly something. She’s not sure what, but just something. Something a little, a very small,  _ tiny bit _ out of the ordinary.

When she’s back at home, she gets comfortable in some pyjamas and empties her backpack, only leaving an empty lunchbag and Sal’s drawing inside. She rests it against the side of her bed and flops down on it, grabbing her sketchbook and flipping through it to the next empty page.

She flips through many drawings and sketches. Some are of cartoon characters, others of some of the girls from Sailor Moon, some realistic and then cutesy sketches of cats and dogs. Some are of plants and flowers, sometimes they have color and other times they don’t. Ash is usually proud of her work, but only ever right after she’s finished it. Now she just looks at them all like drawings she’s done, searching for what her mind was thinking when she drew them. Almost like she’s an archaelogist searching for the remnants of dinosaur fossils.

Now that.. skeleton dinosaurs? That’s an idea. Along with the cement city. She could merge it into one, and it’d be an odd, strange little universe she’d create. Just like how today was. Odd and strange. But she doesn’t regret either.

She hears the sound of her younger brother, Ben, making a smoothie for himself downstairs. The buzzing of the blender sounds off and it’s loud, taking Ash out of her headspace. She’s a little annoyed, but it’s over soon.

Ben comes upstairs with two glasses in hand, stopping at the door. Ash looks up and stares at him expectantly.

“Smoothie?” he offers, holding one out to her.

“Sure,” she puts her sketchbook down and goes over to take it from him, sipping on it from the straw. It’s good. “Mmm, chocolate.”

“Yeah.” Ben nods. “The best.”

“Totally,” she agrees. “Where’s Dad?”

“Out.”

“Where?”

“I dunno.”

“Great, thanks,” Ash says with strong hints of amusement. Then her mind goes elsewhere and her tone becomes serious. “I swear, if he’s at the bar-”

“Ash, calm down,” Ben sighs. “He’s trying to stop.”

“Trying to stop is hard, Ben,” Ash counters. “Trust me. I have a friend who’s dad is an alcoholic. He’s tried too many times to stop, but failed.”

“That doesn’t mean it’ll be the same with our dad.”

Ash shrugs. “I guess.”

“It’ll be fine,” Ben says reassuringly. “So,  _ hooowww _ was school? Getting those good grades?”

“Hopefully,” Ash says with a small laugh, sitting on the edge of her bed. She places the smoothie down on the bedside table as Ben sits next to her. “Got in a fight with a kid today. But I think we have a mutual respect for each other now.”

“Wha-” she sees her brother’s face fall blank for a second. Then he looks at her with one of the most confused expressions he’s ever given her, and she completely understands it. “How… how the hell do you get in a fight with someone, then be cool with them after?”

She chuckles again. “No clue,” Ash says simply. “I mean, I did find out some things. But they’re personal and I can’t share them with anyone. They’re not bad, just…”

“No, I get it,” Ben waves his hand to tell her it’s all good. “As long as you don’t come home with any injuries.”

Ash nods, giving him a small smile. He returns it. “So, what about you?” she asks. “ _ Hoooowwww _ was school?”

“Math stinks,” he says, kicking the woolly floor with his bare foot. “It’s like, algebra or something, I don’t know. I hate it.”

“I can call Todd for you,” Ash offers. “He tutors people.”

“Nah, I just feel stupid with someone helping me,” Ben shakes his head.

“But that’s how you learn?” she furrows her brow in a bit of frustration. “He’s very patient. He helped me learn how to study and organize my notes. And it worked.  _ Me! _ Yours truly, the sister with ADHD!”

Ben laughs, sighing to himself. “I guess you could talk to him,” he concludes. “Just don’t be like, ‘hey my brother sucks at math and-’”

“Oh my god,” Ash wheezes. “Why would I ever say that?”

“You  _ would _ !”

“Okay, yeah.” She laughs at the playfully annoyed expression from him. “But no, I won’t say that to him. I’ll just tell him you’re struggling.”

“Thanks…” Ben slowly starts to get up, his own smoothie in hand, making his way for the door. “Don’t get in any more fights. Or I’ll tell Dad.”

“He already knows,” Ash says. “They called him.”

“What?!” Ben gasps. “So are you grounded?”

“Nah, probably not considering I went out with friends for the whole evening,” she assumes. “Was he still here when you got home?”

“Yeah.”

“Well, then, yeah,” Ash shrugs. “I guess I’m not grounded or anything.”

“Lucky ass…” Ben grumbles.

“Hey!” Ash yells. “I’m yer big sister. Don’t call me that.”

“I said,  _ Lucky Ash _ ,” he lies, grinning. “That’s your new nickname.”

“That’s dumb.”

“You’re dumb.”

“Okay, go to your room!”

Ben gave her an inhuman screech before walking out of her room in a very strange way. Ash wheezed, laughing to herself as she pulls her sketchbook back up to her, taking another sip from her chocolate smoothie. Now to put that cement city with skele-dinos to work, she thinks.

As she’s drawing, she feels as though today started something new. Something… strangely big. Maybe it’s just her being a dumb teen thinking she’s special or that today is more special than any other day. But who knows?

Ash has respect for Travis now, someone who tormented her friends and her for such a long time. Because now she knows he’s gay, and that he’s abused for it, abused so much that he thinks he’s gross and that everyone else who is also gay or bi or whatever is gross. She’s not going to tell anyone, not even Sal or Todd. She made a promise to a kid who is just deathly afraid of a negative outcome. She can’t break that.

She’s surprised she didn’t open up to Travis herself. It’s not that she really deals with the same issues, it’s just that no one but her knows what she’s hiding. No one would judge her, hell, if she told Travis maybe they’d have an even stronger mutual respect for each other. But… she doesn’t know why she didn’t tell him, or why she hasn’t told anyone. Not even Ben knows.

Is she scared? If so, of what? Of the reactions? Maybe, but when she tries to think about getting negative reactions, it doesn’t really scare her that bad. Does she even accept herself, if she’s hiding it from everyone, burying it so far down in the deepest crevice of herself? She knows it’s there, she acknowledges it. So is that not enough?

Ash isn’t sure. Not sure at all. She doesn’t know why she’s never told anyone that she’s a lesbian. Maybe the subconscious fear it’d damage her reputation somehow, but… how would it? Ash doesn’t feel a single bit of fear towards the idea of that, with having so many open, out and accepting friends.

_ Who knows? _

Not her, that’s for sure.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ash lesbian. epic lesbian and i love her so much. thanks for reading :)
> 
> also sorry this chapters a little dead. things take off in later on in chapter 4 and then in chapter 5 so,,,Yeah!!!!


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A new challenger approaches!  
> Also, Sal and Ash have a great friendship.

Ash clicks her mechanical pencil, focusing more on that noise instead of the teacher. She’s in English currently, and the teacher’s going on about something regarding poetic devices. Nothing new to her, so she sees no importance in really listening. She stops clicking her pencil and drags her small notebook of sketches closer to her, leaning in to doodle on it.

She presses the eraser end of the pencil to her chin and puckers her lips in thought. Then, she just decides not to overthink it, drawing a simple fat cat. Ash is reminded of Gizmo and what Sal said about him over Larry’s walkie talkie the other night. Stifling a laugh, she adds the patterns and patches that Gizmo has on to her drawing of the cat. She doodles Sal standing next to Gizmo, looking at him with a poker face of a mask, with a speech bubble saying “you are such a fat little baby”.

Satisfied with her little doodle, she moves on to draw more around it. She adds small little stars and planets and flowers, along with cartoony heads of animals and cute sparkles around them. She picks up her notebook, eyeing the teacher carefully so that she doesn’t get caught, and shows it to Sal, who sits behind her.

He perks up and eyes it, his eyes squinting behind the mask. Then they go wide for a moment and crinkle at the corners with amusement, a small huff of a laugh escaping him.

“He is! He’s such a fat little baby!” Sal whispers to her. Ash giggles, a little too loud, and-

“Miss Campbell?” the teacher, Mrs. Ostrower, snaps her head over to Ash and stares at her with annoyance. She’s glaring so hard that Ash feels if she doesn’t get up and run out of the room soon then she’ll end up with the woman’s eyes being a visible mark on her.

Mrs. Ostrower strides her uncomfortable long, lanky legs to Ash’s desk and glances down at the notebook. “Ah, so you’re an artist,” she sneers. “Well this isn’t art class. It’s English. So enough of this and more listening.”

Ash swallows. “Y-yes, sorry miss,” she apologizes quietly.  _ Jeez, what a bitch. _

Without saying another word, the tall woman stalks back off to the front of the classroom, facing the whole class again and continuing on with her lecture. It’s almost as if that whole thing didn’t just happen, and Ash is thankful. But then Sal mutters an “owch” and lets out a small snort. She flips him off with her still red-painted middle finger, but makes it less visible to the teacher, pulling another soft chuckle from Sal.

She goes back to doodling, only making it less noticeable as well. Ash still feels the slight heat of embarrassment, and she swears she can feel someone still watching her. But she doesn’t bother to draw any more attention to herself, just tries to focus on her class sketches.

Luckily she’s able to catch the instructions of what they’re doing once Mrs. Ostrower is finished with the lecture. She’s supposed to write a poem using alliteration, apparently. It’s stupid to her considering she’s done this so many times before, but she does it anyway to get those good grades. It’s at least easy.

She finishes the assignment fast, and scoots her chair back a bit to visit Sal. He’s done as well, and they keep quiet conversation. Mrs. Ostrower doesn’t mind that, thankfully, as long as they aren’t too disruptive.

“How you dooooiiiinggg, Sally Face?” Ash whispers, grinning with friendliness.

“Gooood,” Sal whispers back. It’s easy for her to tell he’s smiling under his prosthetic. “You?”

“I’m doin’ greeeaat.”

“Niiiiice.”

Ash nods. They stare at each other in awkward silence for a long moment, before loosening up and snickering quietly. Mrs. Ostrower shoots a glance at them, shushing them as a reminder to not be too loud. They both give her a thumbs up, then turn away. Ash boops the cheek of Sal’s mask. He eyes her hand confusedly, then looks at her like she’s crazy. She is.

“I can’t wait for this class to be over,” Ash whispers, more quiet than ever. “It sucks, dude.”

“It wouldn’t if you weren’t talking in the middle of a lecture, dumb-dumb,” Sal says, giggling softly. He lightly swats her head in a playful manner, earning a still super quiet hiss from Ash.

“I tried to be careful!” she insists.

“Aaaaand you failed.”

Ash rolls her eyes before turning back to glance down at her finished assignment. “Thanks,” she mutters, huffing in amusement.

“No problemo.”

_ God, Sally Face, I love you but you’re such a little shit. _

She sighs and decides to just keep doodling. For some reason, she’s in a really arsty mood, even though she already had art class. She suddenly wishes she brought her sketchbook from home to school, so she could work on her skele-dino cement city concept. But maybe it’s best to keep that an at-home thing. Either way, she’s not really complaining.

It’s not long until class ends and Ash feels the relief of lunch having arrived wash over her. She stands up and stretches, her purple sweatshirt so long that it barely rides up, hanging loosely near the start of her thighs. Closing her notebook and stuffing her work in her binder, she grabs her things and turns around to Sal.

“Happy lunch,” she says.

“Happy lunch.” Sal doesn’t look up at her as he gathers his own things, but his voice is still laced with amusement.  


Ash smiles at her friend, waiting patiently for him. She’s then distracted by a gentle poke to her arm and looks over. She’s then met with- woah.

A girl with dark skin, freckles, brown eyes, earrings and a greyish-purple pseudo-pixie haircut stands before her. Ash is unable to tell whether or not those are bags under her eyes or just extra-applied makeup, but she doesn’t care to tell. Her eyes move down to scan her lips, noticing how soft they look, covered with lavender purple lipstick.

The girl has a very Southern Gothic look to her, and Ash would never admit it, but she totally digs it. She wears a tight black sweatshirt, similar to Ash’s, only that it’s not as oversized. She has dark teal leggings and wears a choker with a very pale purple pearl at the front.

“H-hi,” comes her voice, and Ash was expecting an intimidating, tryhard-ish voice. But instead, it’s just raspy and soft. Not high pitched, kind of low, but friendly and gentle. It’s… adorable. “Um, I really like your art. Ah- I mean, well… I just see your drawings sometimes. They’re really good. Keep it up, okay?”

Ash is silent, blinking a bunch before she responds. “Y-yeah,” she stammers out, feeling flustered and stupid. She then clears her voice and stands up straight. “Thank you. It means a lot.”

The girl smiles and god is it ever the cutest thing Ash has seen, but she hopes she’s not making it obvious on how smitten she is. “You’re welcome,” she replies. “I’ll see you around.”

She waves a small goodbye and then makes her way for the door, leaving Ash with Sal in the classroom. Ash stands there, silent, and unbeknownst to her Sal has a very, very confused look on his face. She slowly turns to look at him and her face goes pale, seeing how wide his eyes are.

“Dude.” He blinks, just as slow as Ash had turned to look at him. “Who is that?”

“I… don’t know?” Ash shrugs. Okay, good, Sal didn’t have any suspicions about her.

They make their way out of the classroom themselves, Sal continuing the conversation as he follows behind her. “I catch her staring at you sometimes,” he says, still sounding confused.

_ So  _ that’s _ what that feeling of being stared at was from! _ Ash thinks. But…  _ that girl _ was staring at her. Oh, jeez. Such a cute girl staring at her after that public humiliation. But still… she talked to Ash, so it probably isn’t a big deal.

“She watches you doodle or glances at you while you talk to me during class,” Sal goes on, “she doesn’t pay any mind to me, really, but I can tell she acknowledges me too.”

“What’s her name?” Ash asks, stopping to turn back around, facing the blue-haired boy.

“It’s kind of-” he’s cut off, then pauses. “Oh. Um-...” he squints, searching for a name in his head, but draws blank. “I don’t know. I forget.”

Ash grunts and they continue walking, only this time she keeps at Sal’s pace, right beside him. “Maybe Larry knows?” she suggests, and he shrugs.

“Maybe.” They reach Ash’s locker and Sal leans against the others as he waits for her. “I’ve seen her staring at you lots of times. But like, not in a weird way. In a…”

“Why didn’t you tell me this before, then?” Ash asks, not meaning to sound as frustrated as she did. “Sorry- shit.” Books fall over in her locker and she groans loudly. “Fucking lockers.” She fixes it quickly, sighing and grabbing her lunch bag, slamming it shut.

Standing back up to look down at Sal, she meets his sapphire blue eyes. His expression is unreadable and she feels a little awkward.

“I dunno.” He blinks. “I didn’t think much of it for awhile, but now she talked to you. Why are you making such a big deal out of it, anyway?”

“I’m not, I-”

The conversation is cut off entirely as Larry enters. Todd walks behind him, much more slow and steady as he’s having an easy chat with Neil. Larry swings an arm over Sal’s shoulder and gives Ash a friendly smile, then gives one to Sal.

“How’s it going, pals?” he says, popping the ‘p’ on ‘pals.’

“Ash has a new friend,” Sal says before Ash can speak first, and that earns a glare from her.

“Woah! Who?” Larry gapes, turning to stare at Ash in surprise. “Ash, tell me whooooo. Any friend of yours is a friend of mine.”

“Uh…” Ash furrows her brow, trying to find her words. “Well… we don’t know her name. But she talked to me at the end of English last period. She’s kind of shorter than me, but not Sal’s height, and has a purple-grey pixie haircut? And dark skin, with freckles. She sports a goth look.”

“Oh! Maple Riedo,” Larry nods, grinning. “She was in my geography class last year. I also know her from Chug, since they’re friends. Super quiet unless you approach her first. But she’s really smart.”

_ Maple. _

What a cute name for such a cute girl.

“But wait!” Sal exclaims, jumping between the two brunettes. “She approached Ash first! She said she likes her art!”

Larry seems to be taken aback. Ash feels a little nervous, rubbing her one arm. “Holy shit,” he gasps. “Dude. That’s so- weird, but like, in a good way? I guess she is your new friend! She likes you, Ash!”

“What’s this about Maple liking Ash?” Todd butts in, Neil having left just a moment ago.

Ash groans, covering her face with her hands. “Guys, she just talked to me once,” she says. “It doesn’t mean anything.”

“She stares at you during class! She watches you draw!” Sal insists, jumping over and over now with excitement. “It means  _ eeeeeverythiiiing _ !”

“You don’t just have a new friend,” Todd says, smiling, “you have an admirer.”

“Ugh…” Ash sighs, pressing her back against the lockers, tugging at her long, reddish-brown hair. “Can we just let this go?”

Larry puts a hand on her shoulder and she looks up at him. “How come you’re so defensive about it?” he asks, tilting his head curiously.

“I-I-” Ash stammers, not wanting to meet anyone’s eyes for more than half a second. “No reason. No reason.”

“Is it ‘cause you’re straight?” Todd asks.

“Like she’s straight,” Sal jokes. “Todd, c’mon.”

“What?” he looks at him in confusion. “She never talks about having attraction to anyone!”

“That doesn’t mean you can assume she’s straight.” Sal crosses his arms. “You’re literally gay, dude, and yet you still join in on heteronormativity. So sad.”

“Guys, leave it alone,” Larry says, voice suddenly serious. He turns back to Ash. “It’s probably not an admirer in that way, just in a friendly way. Let’s just head to the caff. If she doesn’t want it to be talked about, we respect that and drop it.”

Sal shrugs. Todd mutters a “fine” and they all follow Larry to the cafeteria. Ash is suddenly thankful that out of everyone else, Larry was the only one who actually decided to shut that topic down.

She probably doesn’t make it very obvious that she’s not straight, but she probably doesn’t make it obvious that she’s lesbian, either. So maybe to others she comes off as bisexual. _Ugh, why is this so nervewracking?_ Why can’t she be open with her friends, who are already so incredibly open? She kind of relates to how Travis feels, jealous that she has such a hard time being open and her friends don’t. It is still a struggle for them, Ash can agree on that, but…

Ash just decides to drop the entire thought process of it, too.

When they get to the cafeteria, Ash spots Chug, his bright green hair and red cap sticking out in a room full of “normal”-colored heads of students. She sees him making conversation with someone, and it’s Maple. She looks interested, but doesn’t speak that much, and if she does Ash can’t hear it from so far away.

Maple is really pretty. Like, really pretty. Not the conventional kind of pretty, not at all. But just in her own way she’s pretty. She’s gorgeous and Ash wants to talk to her more. But then her body freezes up at the thought and then thinks  _ fuck that, _ and instead sits down next to Sal and takes out her food.

“Sorry for going on about that earlier,” Sal leans in to say to her after some time has passed. “I won’t ask why you didn’t want us to, but just know I’m sorry.”

Ash blinks, shaking her head and smiling gently at Sal. “No, it’s okay,” she reassures him. “You didn’t do anything horribly wrong. I’ve just never dealt with this before.”

“Not any kind of crush?” Sal tilts his head to the side.

“I-” Ash pauses, sighing and searching for words.

“Shit, sorry-” Sal starts, but Ash waves him off again politely.

“No, just, I don’t think it’s really a crush,” she explains carefully, shaking her head. “I’ve just never had anyone tell me they think someone likes me or admires me or whatever.”

“Seriously?”

“Yeah, seriously. It’s really weird.”

“Huh,” Sal says, taking a sip of his drink. His lower mask straps are unbuckled and she can see just a little bit of his face without the mask, though it’s hidden well. “That _is_ weird. ‘Cause like, you’re really pretty. I don’t get how people can just not really like you the moment they see you. Like Travis.”

Ash feels her cheeks warm up a bit at such the strong compliment. She laughs at the last part, then remembers the other night, but quickly shoots it down deciding that maybe now isn’t the best time to announce she has a respect for Travis. “Heh, that’s so sweet, Sal,” she says. “But yeah. I just… I don’t want anyone calling it a crush. Maybe she just... really thinks I’m cool, because I’m friends with the most radical kid in school… You!”

“Heyyy,” Sal gasps, chuckling. “This isn’t a compliment war!”

“Who can say no to that radical blue hair and epic looking mask?” Ash giggles, ruffling Sal’s hair on the crown of his head. He groans playfully and shoos her hand away with his own.

“Traaaavis!” Sal jokes, laughing loudly. Ash wheezes and nods, pulling the small male in for a gentle hug. “Ashhh! Don’t squeeze me to death with your hugs.”

“I’m being super careful, dude, shut up,” Ash cackles, feeling warmth surge through her when Sal hugs back. “Seriously. You’re so cool. That’s probably why she thinks I’m so cool.”

“You saying she has a thing for me?” Sal looks at her with a playful glimmer in his eyes. It's easy to tell under that mask that boy has a smug as hell look on his face.  


“Wha- no- well… maybe?” Ash laughs again, more sheepishly. “I dunno. I was appreciating you!”

“Oh!” Sal smiles under his mask, his eyes lighting up. “Right. You’re so kind.”

“I would kill for you.”

“Please don’t, oh, no…”

The two eventually calm down, and Sal joins in on Larry and Todd’s conversation. Ash doesn’t bother to listen to it, and instead spends most of her time gazing at Maple. She still sits with Chug way back at the other end of the cafeteria.

_ I should really go over there and talk to her, _ she thinks.  _ No, don’t, you’ll look weird. You’re rushing things. Maybe this is just some infatuation that you’ll get over soon if you don’t focus on it. _

She sighs, grabbing a fistful of hair in her one hand, taking a sip from her drink in her other. It’s probably not an infatuation, but she doesn’t want to rush into anything. It’s her first real time having any sort of attraction to anyone, and Ash doesn’t wanna mess it up.

More time passes and Ash is taken out of her headspace by the ringing of the bell. She bids her goodbyes to her friends before heading off for her afternoon classes. She looks back over her shoulder to look around for Maple, spotting her leaving through the other door. Ash wonders what class she has now, and is still not at all over how fucking beautiful she is.

  
_ Yeah, don’t rush, _ Ash tells herself.  _ You can do this, but don’t rush. _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hope yall enjoyed this :3c!!!!! i know its mostly dialogue based so im srry if it got boring or w/e!! ch5 is better im p sure  
> also i may be posting this to wattpad as well! so if i do ill update with the link next chapter


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> And so, the adventure begins! ...Kind of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> there is a brief mention describing sals' autism in this fic ;v; i dont have autism i have adhd so if i described it incorrectly at all please dont be afraid to let me know. other than that i hope you all enjoy this one!

The end of the day comes quick and suddenly Ash feels like the last couple hours just… didn’t happen. She’d spent probably ninety percent of it daydreaming about Maple, and she also probably made it just a little too obvious. Either way, Ash didn’t get called out for it by anyone; she’s not a very self aware person so if anyone was looking at her weirdly she wouldn’t have noticed.

Deciding not to overthink it, she quickly redoes her locker combination and opens it, grabbing all the things she needs, which… isn’t much actually. Just her backpack and the notebook she uses to doodle in during classes. Ash quickly flips through it to the last page, and nearly gasps at the small sketches she made of Maple from memory.

Okay, yeah, she was really daydreaming too hard.

“Hey!” comes a voice close behind her. Ash jumps, squawking in surprise, clutching the notebook to her chest. She realizes it’s just Sal when she looks over, the short male chuckling. “Shit- sorry. Didn’t mean to startle you.”

“It’s fine,” she giggles nervously, sighing. She closes the notebook and carefully puts it back inside her backpack.

“Okay,” Sal says. “So you’re not going to believe what Larry did in chemistry. He-” He pauses, his eyes having darted around them, but stopped at something before going wide.

Ash furrows a brow. “What?” She turns around to match where he’s looking, and sees that he’s staring at the drawing he made that he gave up on, up on the inside of Ash’s locker door. Ash looks back at him, meeting Sal’s eyes.

“Why do you… have my drawing?” he asks. He’s slow about it, careful, almost nervous.

“Larry showed me it and I really like it,” she explains. “For me, it represents what your mind would look like, if it were a world of its own. I love it a lot, so I took it.”

“Oh…” he looks away, voice smaller. Ash can tell he’s blushing by the way the tips of his ears turn a soft pink. She laughs. “That’s really kind of you, Ash. Especially since it’s, well, you. Thanks…”

“No need to thank me!” she reassures. “Don’t give up on yourself, Sal. You have great potential, when it comes to art. Keep it up.”

“I’ll try…” Sal nods slowly.

The next day comes fast, with Ash and Ben parting ways once Ben is closer to his school. He’s still in middle school, so obviously they don’t go to the same school.

Ash is kind of glad for that because she thinks her friends might be just a bit too much for him personality-wise. She has a close, yet awkward relationship with her brother. Their interactions usually range from the most abstract kind of topics to deep and serious things, and then occasionally basic stuff. It’s kind of cliche, maybe, but to Ash she wouldn’t have it any other way. Sometimes Ben pisses her off but she gets over it fast, and she imagines sometimes that she pisses him off as well.

She kind of wishes she could be open about being a lesbian around him though. Ash knows she could tell him and he’d be perfectly chill with it, since whenever she mentions Todd and Neil he doesn’t react in any negative way. But still, would it be weird to know that his own sister isn’t straight? It’s so complex, Ash realizes. And now she’s actually in love with a girl, possibly, and… ugh.

As she makes her way to her own hellhole of education, she hears a faint voice call her name. It sounds like it comes from behind her, so she turns around, but sees nothing. It calls again and she looks to her side a bit, still facing the opposite way she was walking towards.

To her surprise, she’s met with Travis waving to her in the distance. She waves back and he quickly makes his way towards her, skidding to a halt from the grassy grounds to the sidewalks.

“You might wanna be careful around here,” she warns amusingly. “Someone could see you.”

Travis doesn’t take the joke too well. “Wha- like who?” His brown eyes cloud over with worry, and he tenses up. Ash frowns, waving her hands in front of herself reassuringly.

“No, no, I was kidding,” she says. “I just meant to be careful that someone in our grade could see you and report you for wandering around. Or like, Larry or Sal or Todd could see you for some reason. Though they don’t go down this way, so…” she trails off.

“Oh.” Travis relaxes, his shoulders slumping forward. “Okay, yeesh. Sorry. I thought you meant, like, my dad- or someone from the church-”

Ash laughs. “Nah, I’m pretty sure they wouldn’t,” she reassures. “Maybe if you’re nervous about it, though, wear a hoodie to make yourself less identifiable. Then they won’t notice you. Or, um, stop wearing those ugly jorts.”

“Ugly?” Travis blinks, looking actually taken aback.

“Your straight boy wardrobe mixed with a hoodie still makes you identifiable,” Ash deadpans. “That’s what I mean. Also they’re just… not in style and really don’t suit you.”

The tanned male grunts in response, shrugging. “I can try that,” he mutters. He kicks the dirt on the ground, then looks up at her again. “How are the others, by the way?”

“Oh, they’re alright,” Ash says, giving a small smile. “You weren’t brought up in any of our conversations today. That’s probably a good thing, to you.”

Travis laughs awkwardly. “Well I wouldn’t blame them if I was…”

Ash laughs back. “Yeah, I guess not if you put yourself in their shoes.” She pulls back her sweater sleeve to check her watch, thankful she’s actually got a way to tell time. She bites her bottom lip, seeing that she still has fifteen minutes to spare. “Shit, I should get going, dude. Fifteen minutes till class starts.”

“Alright,” Travis nods. “You got stuff to do?”

“Uh…” Ash swallows, pursing her lips as she thinks about seeing Maple there. It’s unlikely, but even a thought as simple as that gets her blood rushing. “Yeah. Gotta, uh, talk to some friends. I’ll see you.”

“Bye.”

She turns back to continue her walk to school, only this time picking up the pace a bit. She does have some time to kill, but it’s not much. _Hopefully it’s enough to spot Maple,_ she thinks. _Oh, be quiet! You have her last period of the morning!_

It doesn’t take her long to find and get inside the building. After all, she was practically running there. She catches her breath as she grabs her things from her locker, and decides to make one quick round around the school. The thought of seeing Maple again crosses her mind once more and she bites her lip, just hating the way her heart skips a beat. She sighs and pushes hair out of her face, fixing her choker and pulling her hood up before starting her next walk.

She smells the stink of cigarettes coming from both bathrooms. Trying not to gag, she pinches her nose and makes her way past them in almost a sprint, slowing down once she’s out of that area. There’s not many students yet. Probably because everyone here is pretty lazy and slow, she thinks to herself in amusement. But then she feels bad. Or maybe they don’t have a faster way of transportation? Or live far away. She shrugs, deciding it isn’t really any of her business. She just feels odd.

The smell of perfume fills her nostrils next as she reaches the corner. It’s strong but she doesn’t mind the scent. Once she turns around, she sees the staircase and spots a girl with dark green hair and skin almost as tan as Travis’ making conversation with a boy with light brown hair and light skin.

Ash huffs to herself once she’s passed them, too. The school should really ban perfumes and stuff like that, she thinks. What if someone comes here but they’re allergic? The air is already so dry here…

She stops abruptly when she hears the familiar sound of Chug’s voice coming from around the next corner. She goes over, slowly, then walks casually once she turns and spots him talking with Maple.

Maple looks so pretty yet again. Her hair is the same as yesterday, and this time she’s wearing dark violet lipstick. She sports a black tank underneath a slightly see-through black lace long-sleeved shirt, with black ripped jeans and boots. Under the rips of her jeans Ash notices she has fishnets on. Around her neck is still the same choker, but it goes well with the rest of her outfit. Okay, she is totally a goth, Ash thinks. And I love it. Wow.

“Hey Ash,” Chug says, looking to her. Ash makes eye contact with him and smiles, though it’s kind of hilarious how the two are friends if you have outside perspective. Maple is just a full on goth and Chug is… well, Chug is Chug. But hey, anyone can be friends with anyone. Ash doesn’t judge.

“Hi,” she says, waving to the two of them. She looks at Maple who smiles and sheepishly pushes a strand of hair behind her ear. Fuck, Ash thinks, she’s so cute.

Chug swings off his backpack and unzips it, shuffling through it. “You want a candy bar, Ash?” he offers politely, glancing up at her to flash a big friendly smile.

“Chug, it’s eight in the morning,” Maple groans. “I don’t think anyone would want one of your snacks so early.” She crosses her arms and leans against the wall, sighing when the green-haired boy ignores her.

“I’ve got Kitkats, Aero, um…” Chug trails off, pausing for a moment. He then looks up at Ash. “That’s it. I ate the rest, I think. Sorry.”

“Oh, it’s okay,” Ash shakes her head, giving the boy a gentle smile back. “But no thank you. I’m really not that hungry right now…”

“Told you,” Maple says. Chug pouts, zipping up his bag and pulling it back on to himself. Maple meets eyes with Ash and Ash quickly panics, hoping it doesn’t look like she was staring. “He’s always offering candy to people. He’s kind but it’s also a bit suspicious.”

“No it’s not!” Chug protests. “I look so friendly. You look like you could kill me if you wanted to, but yet you’re friends with me. See? How can anyone think I’m suspicious!”

“That’s the weirdest compliment I’ve ever been given.” Maple squints. She looks back at Ash. “What class do you have first?”

“Art,” Ash says quickly.

“Oh, lucky,” the girl replies. She purses her lips in despair. “I wish I had art first thing, but I have it right after lunch. I guess that’s not so bad, but still, I wish I had something else instead of math first thing.”

“You have math first thing?” Ash gapes. “Jeez. Rough.”

“I know…” Maple sighs. “Well, I should probably get going I guess. You too, Chug.” Chug nods and grips the straps of his backpack. Maple holds eye contact with Ash and Ash swears she feels like she’s being given ten more years of life. “I’ll see you in English, Ash.”

“Yeah,” she nods. “You too, Maple.”

Maple smiles at her before turning the other way, following Chug for a bit before the two part ways for their separate classes.

Ash just stands there, still, almost like time has frozen completely. Maple’s smile is quite literally a blessing from Heaven. She’s not religious, but if she were, she’d be firm on the idea that Maple herself is an actual angel. The way she talks, so calm and soft spoken, and her eyes are so dark yet so warm and friendly, paired with her smile that just looks so genuine and pure… the way she walks almost looks completely different from the way anyone else walks, and Ash never even points that out about other people. And her freckles, too. Gosh… she feels like they’re constellations for a secret universe inside Maple’s head.

She’s just so fucking pretty. So gorgeous. Ash is falling, she’s falling hard and falling fast, and she can’t be bothered right now to be scared of whether or not it’s obvious to anyone else.

The morning has flown by pretty fast and Ash is now in her last period before lunch, yet again English. She met up with Sal after second period. It’s usually what they do, meeting up together since Sal doesn’t feel comfortable always going down the specific hallway to the classroom. It’s where Travis first started his harassment on the boy and ever since then Sal just… doesn’t feel good about going down there alone. Even if Travis is currently suspended from school.

She understands, despite having a mutual respect for the blonde boy now. And Ash has to admit, she feels kind of dirty talking to Travis without her other friends knowing. It’s not like she’s been talking about them to him, not in a bad way, and they aren’t full-on buddy-buddy with each other.

But would they believe her if she said that once they found out?

The very thought of them finding that out, alongside her actually having attraction only towards girls makes her head spin. It makes her head spin so fast so quickly that she feels it could just pop off and smash all over the floor like a glass sphere.

Sighing, she gives her head a quick shake and brushes the same annoying strand of hair out of her face yet again, leaning in closer on the drawing she’s doing in her notebook.

Out of the corner of her eye, Mrs. Ostrower gets up out of the chair at her own desk. “Okay,” she starts. “So, since mostly all of you finished yesterday’s assignment, I figured perhaps it’d be alright to start the next one.”

 _I… Alright,_ Ash thinks.

“It’s an assignment where you’ll put into pairs,” she continues, “and I’ll do the pairing, no questions asked.” Not-so-quiet sighs and groans float around the classroom. Mrs. Ostrower goes on. “You must write down a prompt for each other, then write a poem based off of that.”

Ash huffs through her nose, not bothering to turn her head to glance at Sal. _Please don’t put me with Maple,_ she silently pleads. _I don’t think I can handle that much._

“Alright, I’ll start the process.” The lanky woman begins to pair students up, and she does it rather quickly. “Jessica and Nicole. Lauren and Michael. Will and Austin…” she goes on, Ash not paying attention. At least not until her name is said.

She turns to Sal, who tugs on his pigtails anxiously. “You okay?” she asks, resting a hand on his arm gently. He nods.

“I just don’t like partner stuff,” he explains. “No one does but.. you know… I just prefer to work alone unless it’s with you or Larry or Todd.”

Ash nods. She understands that kind of anxiety. Of course it’s more extreme for Sal, because he has such a hard time talking to people. First there’s the judgment for his mask, and then it’s his autism that sometimes gets in the way. Not saying him having autism is a bad thing, but not a lot of people are well-educated on it. So sometimes he may come off as awkward. It's certainly not a definitive trait but only comes out in unexpected situations, only more excessively.

“Sal and Neil,” Mrs. Ostrower calls out.

Sal huffs in relief, looking over to Neil. “Thank God,” he laughs calmly. At least it’s still someone he knows well enough to feel a little more comfortable around.

Mrs. Ostrower continues assigning students for a bit, and then…

“Ash and Maple.”

 _Oh no,_ Ash thinks. Her face goes pale and for a second she swears she feels her throat tighten. Forcing herself to act casual, she looks to Maple, who still sits right across from Sal. Maple smiles at her again and Ash swears this girl will be the death of her.

“You can come sit beside me, y’know,” Maple says, patting Sal’s empty seat. She even grabs it and pulls it a little closer to her. _Holy sh- okay, Ash, calm the_ fuck _down._

“O-okay,” Ash stammers, mentally cursing herself again. She grabs a piece of loose leaf and her pencil and eraser and gets up, going over to sit next to Maple. “So… Poetry. How do you wanna do this?”

Maple shrugs. “I assume you’re good at it,” she says bluntly.

“Wha…?” Ash blinks at her, squinting. “Why me?”

“You’re creative.” Maple says it like it’s obvious. “You’re really good at art and you always seem to finish the writing pieces really fast. I do, too, but… I dunno. S-sorry if it sounds like I’m gonna make you do all the work, I-”

“No no, it’s okay!” Ash says quickly, cutting her off. “I appreciate the compliment. This does sound pretty simple to me. Just write down any idea that comes to your mind.”

“Anything?” Maple asks.

“Anything.”

“Hmm…” The pale-haired girl presses the tip of her pencil to her chin in thought, squinting. “Ah! I got it,” she says a couple moments later. As she begins writing her prompt down, she adds, “oh yeah, I’ve definitely got it.”

Ash writes her own prompt down, laughing softly. “Great,” she replies happily. She sets her pencil back down and waits for Maple to be done. It doesn’t look like she’s writing a lot, but Ash is patient nonetheless.

She pulls back and sighs softly. “Okay,” she looks to Ash. “Do we just… start the next part now?”

“Yeah,” Ash nods.

They switch papers. Her own prompt was, _Something you’ve seen so far today that’s made you really happy._ As she looks at Maple’s prompt, she sees how short yet… complex it is. It reads:

_Align the current weather with how you feel. If it’s too difficult, align a different kind of weather with how you feel. See how it correlates with each other._

The current weather. It’s been… calm, not too cold but not too hot, just in the middle of it all. It’s slowly starting to change but feels still. At night it’s like you hear no rustling in the trees or bushes and no sound of wind blowing outside. It’s just calm, still, but it feels like it’s changing in such a strong way.

How Ash has been feeling in general is somewhat similar to that. She’s felt good about everything as a whole, but now with this whole crush thing happening out of nowhere, everything feels still when she approaches it. Yet it’s like she’s spinning at the same time.

She writes a short, quick poem based off of that. She usually likes to make it rhyme, because… well, why not. It’s what she’s used to. Four lines per stanza, four stanzas. It turns out pretty good and she waits for Maple to be done. Hers is… just a little bit longer than Ash’s. Ash sees a little peek of it and is able to tell.

Within a couple minutes Maple is done, sliding it to her. “Here you go,” she says. Ash slides her paper to Maple in return and she takes it.

Ash reads the poem intently.

_I don’t know a lot, but_   
_I’m still interested_   
_Seeing what makes me happy_   
_Wanting to know more, ‘cause I know I’ll feel even better_

_Sharing words between us_   
_Feels like speaking a language no one else understands_   
_And maybe they don’t_   
_Maybe it’s just us_

_Have you ever seen the moon_   
_When she’s at her fullest?_   
_Because you make me feel_   
_Exactly like her the most_

_Is this too much?_   
_Tell me if it is_   
_But I really don’t think_   
_You’d say it is_

_I think you’d say the opposite_   
_I feel so small and fragile_   
_But when that energy comes around_   
_I grow stronger_

_Do you hear it?_   
_It’s me, trying to come through_   
_Caught in the spider web of my own words, but I think you understand_   
_No one else is here… It’s just us_

Ash finishes reading the poem, resting her back against the chair. It’s so… simple, yet complex when you read between the lines. Ash can’t help but admire Maple for how good she is at keeping complex things spoken within small words. She suddenly wants to get to know Maple way more than she did before. The girl just… seems so interesting.

She looks to Maple, seeing that she’s still reading Ash’s poem. She looks so concentrated, trying to absorb every word, letter for letter as if it holds the universe’s secrets. It obviously doesn’t, but still, she looks just as interested in Ash’s poem as Ash was in hers’.

A long moment passes, Ash fixated on the bits of conversation flowing between students all over the classroom. Maple finishes reading it and she just sits there, still, blinking once and very slowly. Ash could’ve counted every eyelash if she wanted to, but didn’t. She sighs through her nose and looks to Ash, giving her a small gentle smile.

“I knew you were amazing,” she says, voice dripping with something Ash couldn’t identify. She could only find ‘admiration’ as a word to describe it. “Your writing is really creative. I like the way you make everything rhyme, and it all still sounds so interesting.”

Ash feels her cheeks heat up a bit, hoping it’s not physically evident. She smiles back. “Thanks,” she murmurs. “I, uh… really like yours too. It’s simple but you get the point across really well. I actually wish I could do that myself, you make it look so easy…”

Maple just shrugs. “It’s kind of hard for me to expand my vocabulary sometimes, especially in a unit as big as poetry,” she explains. “But it’s also all about metaphors and deeper meanings. Using small things to hide the big stuff is what I’m best at when it comes to this, I guess.”

“Yeah.” Ash nods. She glances back at her paper, then a thought comes to her mind. She looks back to Maple. “Hey, um… you’re not busy at lunch, are you?”

A look of surprise crosses Maple’s face, but not in a bad way. She blinks. “No, I’m not,” she says quickly. “I always just eat with Chug.”

“Oh, okay.” Ash pauses, finding the right words. Struggling to make eye contact, she asks, “do you, and Chug maybe, wanna hang with me and my friends then? It’s okay if you don’t want to. You just seem, um… cool. And I think they’d like you.”

Maple blinks again, a couple times actually. She pushes a bit of hair behind her ear again, and _holy shit that’s cute,_ Ash thinks. _Wait- is she blushing?_ The girl smiles and nods. “Sure,” she says. “Chug knows some of your friends I think. Um, the blue-haired one, I believe? And Larry. They’re not close, but they know each other.”

“Oh, okay, cool,” Ash grins, clapping her hands together excitedly. “The blue-haired one is Sal, by the way, haha. He’s a great dude.”

“Sal! That’s right.” Maple nods again. “I’ve heard some kid calling him Sally Face. He reclaims that name sometimes, but I guess it’s used against him because of his… uh…” she trails off, unable to find the word for it.

“Prosthetic?”

“Yeah.” Maple sighs, looking at the floor. “People are so mean. I’m glad Sal has such nice people he surrounds himself with, though.” She meets Ash’s eyes and her soft lips curl into another smile.

 _Does… does she mean me?_ Ash asks, but then mentally slaps herself. _No, she’s probably talking about you AND the others, dumbass._

“I’m glad too,” is all she responds with, along with a smile of her own.

The two keep the conversation going, changing subjects every so often. Maple is actually such an interesting person. She’s funny and kind, sometimes trailing off and not knowing the right words for things, but she’s still great at conversation. Larry was right; just because someone is quiet doesn’t mean they aren’t intelligent. Maple is quite intelligent and has perfect speaking skills. Maybe she’s just shy or… something. Ash doesn’t know.

All she knows is that Maple brings her immense joy. She’s never felt any romantic attraction to anyone, but now that she has, considering who it’s for she doesn’t regret it one bit.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ash falls deeper into her feelings for Maple. It's a little frustrating.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> still havent posted the fic to wattpad yet bc im having a hard time coming up with a cover...... i dont want to steal art either because thats not cool lol. ill come up with something eventually. for now take this, i hope u enjoy it :D

They agreed to meet up in the cafeteria, where Ash could go and bring Maple and Chug over to the others. She decided not to tell Sal, no real reason why, she just didn’t feel the need to. It’s not like it’d pull a negative reaction from him or any of the others, they’re all pretty flexible people who enjoy making new friends. Ash is thankful for that, because as outgoing as she can be, it still is a little hard for her to approach people if she overthinks it.

A sigh leaves her lips as she fixes her hair, tucking a longer strand of it behind her ear. She finds Larry waiting for her at the end of the hallway and he glances to her, giving her a friendly smile. Ash waves to him. “Hi,” she greets.

Larry shuffles through his pockets, muttering a greeting back to her. He then groans and rests himself against the hard porcelain wall, leaning his head back and pressing the crown of it against the wall. “Shit,” he grumbles. “Don’t have my lighter on me.”

Ash purses her lips, not feeling sympathetic for her friend. He started smoking not too long ago. It wasn’t cigarettes, luckily, just weed. She knows you don’t get addicted to that nearly as quickly but it can still be damaging to your health, especially at her and Larry’s age. But what can she do, she’s never tried any sort of drugs or alcohol, so she’d look stupid trying to insist he should be glad he doesn’t have all the ‘supplies’ for it.

She decides to just roll with it. “Did you seriously bring a bag of weed to school?” she asks, cocking her head to the side. Larry nods and she huffs a laugh. “Dude. If you get caught, you’re getting your ass beat.”

“I’m not gonna get caught,” Larry reassures, turning to Ash and sighing. “I guess it’s a good thing I don’t have my lighter. I’d raise the chance of it if I actually smoked some by getting the scent on me.”

“True.” Ash looks around, trying to look for Sal and Todd. She had hoped they would come back to walk with them but she assumes they didn’t, since their lockers are closer to the cafeteria. She starts walking and Larry follows behind her silently.

It doesn’t take them too long to reach it. Ash sees Sal and Todd waiting for them in their usual spot, assuming she was right to think they just decided not to meet up with them at their lockers. Larry quickly makes his way over to sit next to Sal, wrapping his arm around the shorter boy’s waist and giving his masked cheek a quick peck. Sal grumbles out a chuckle and when Larry pulls away he undoes the bottom straps of his prosthetic to eat.

Ash looks around curiously, not having seated herself just yet. She scans the room for Maple and Chug. She hopes they didn’t choose to ditch, hopes she didn’t seem too weird or like she was taking things too fast. But a sigh of relief leaves her when she’s able to spot them, and Maple waves to her. Her heart does another one of those dumb little bounces and without saying anything to the others, she runs off to her and Chug.

“Hi!” she gasps once she slows down, reaching their table, still at the far end of the large room. “I thought you hadn’t come here yet so I got… uh, worried. Haha.”

Maple smiles. “Yeah, sorry,” she says. “Sometimes we’re hard to miss and other times we’re not. But don’t worry! We’re here.”

Ash nods. They hold eye contact for a moment that was probably too long, because Chug breaks the silence. Through a mouthful of food, he asks, “so… are we gonna head over there?”

“Oh! Haha,” Ash laughs awkwardly, pulling back. She feels her cheeks heat up and turns to lead them the way. “Yep! Right over there.” She points to the table where she, Sal, Larry, Todd and sometimes Neil sit at together. Neil isn’t there today, probably busy with other things. But the other three just indulge in some conversation Ash is too far away to hear fully.

She brings Maple and Chug over to the others and stands proudly at the edge of the table. Sal is the first to turn to them and then Larry, then Todd. Ash smiles and waves her arms excitedly.

“We have new friends!” she announces happily. “All of us!”

“Really?” Todd says, then flashes a friendly smile. “Hi!”

“Hi Maple,” Larry waves. “Hi Chug.”

“Ash, how come you didn’t tell us?” Sal asked, eyes looking playfully hurt under his half-undone mask. “I could’ve done something to make it seem more inviting!” He pouts.

Ash laughs. “I wanted to surprise you guys, I guess,” she says with a shrug. She turns to Maple and Chug and sits down beside Todd. “C’mon, take a seat.”

Maple sits down next to her. Chug goes over to Larry and sits next to him. He’s across from Maple, so it works out fine, plus he and Larry know each other decently. Ash drums her knees excitedly, trying not to squirm in her seat.

“Sal, ya got anything you aren’t gonna eat?” Chug asks politely.

“Just soft stuff,” Sal shrugs. “But I’m pretty hungry anyway, so no, sorry Chug.”

“Eh, that’s fine,” Chug waves with a friendly smile. “Don’t worry about it.”

The four boys all end up making pretty good conversation, leaving Ash and Maple to just sit there and listen. Ash isn’t very interested, they’re debating some weird conspiracies about aliens and she’s pretty sure Maple isn’t that intrigued either. She wants to talk to Maple, but what should she talk to her about? She doesn’t want to seem awkward or anything.

From the corner of her eye she scans Maple’s wardrobe again. Maybe Ash could compliment it, or something similar. She notices with Maple’s hands resting on the table that her nails are painted a glossy black. Damn, she thinks, black is definitely her color.

“I like your fashion sense,” she says after a moment, turning to her. “It’s goth, right?”

Maple blinks. She looks as if no one has ever complimented her for that before, but something in her eyes quickly light up and she smiles. “Yeah! Thanks,” she says quickly. “I really like the whole culture. This outfit probably cost a lot more than any of my others, though. I wish I could buy more like it but my parents might not let me.”

“Oh, I know how you feel,” Ash nods. “I want to go punk, it just seems so cool. But I wanna cut my hair way shorter for that and my dad would not let me go as short as I want. I’m also just… insecure, I guess?”

“Yeah.” Maple purses her lips, looking to add something. Then she looks back at Ash. “I usually don’t go anywhere like this, since I’m insecure too. Most of the time it’s baggy clothes, still dark, but baggy. They’re comfortable so I settle for them for that reason also.”

_ I’m sure you look good in anything you wear, _ Ash thinks, but doesn’t say it. Being a girl if she said that to another girl, maybe it’d come off as platonic, but she really likes Maple... in a non-platonic way. So mustering up the courage to even say ‘hi’ right now is a little difficult.

“I’d dye some of my hair purple if I could,” she says. “It’s obvious it’s my favorite color.”

“I think it’d really suit you if you went for it,” Maple replies honestly. Ash feels her cheeks turn warm again and Maple smiles at her. Then she laughs.

She _laughs._

It sounds like a noise only from Heaven, or only from an angel. Like before, Ash isn’t religious, but if she were she’d bet you a thousand dollars that Maple is an angel of some sort. The way her nose slightly scrunches up when she laughs and her lips tug into a grin, the holy noise leaving her to bless Ash’s soul and cleanse it of any negativity. She’s so adorable, Ash wishes she could say it but can’t. Not right now. Not yet.

“What’s so funny?” Ash asks instead.  


“Your nails,” Maple points out. “They’re clever. I like ‘em.”

“My nails? Oh.” Ash forgets, too caught up in embedding the sound of Maple’s laughter into her brain. She pulls her eyes away from the girl to look at her hands and sees that the nails are all still painted a bright blue; the only exception being that her middle digits are bright red. She laughs herself this time. “Oh! Thank you,” she says through giggles, looking back to Maple who smiles again. “Sal suggested I paint the rest of them blue.”

“It’s clear to tell what his favorite color is, then, too I guess,” Maple jokes.

Ash nods, returning another smile of her own.

“Shit, thanks Todd, you’re the man,” she hears Larry say. She turns over to Larry who shoves a red-painted piece of metal into his pocket. It’s easy to tell it’s a lighter and Ash sighs, looking back down. “You gonna stay here, Sal?”

“Yeah,” Sal replies. “I’ll be fine here, Lar. I also just don’t want the smell on me. Go.”

“Aaaallright,” Larry says, and he’s off heading out of the cafeteria, making for the building’s doors.

“He smokes?” Maple whispers, having leaned closer to Ash, who still has her head looking down. Ash nods slowly, not feeling the need to say anything. “Weed?” The brunette nods again. “Ugh… you don’t like that I’m guessing.”

“I know so much about it,” Ash explains quietly. “But I don’t say anything because I’ve never tried any drugs or whatever. So I don’t want to sound dumb.”

Maple nods, biting her lip for a second, thinking. “Maybe you should say something anyway,” she suggests. “You don’t know what could happen later on. He could get into worse stuff.”

“True…” Ash says. She knows she should be asking Todd why the hell he thought it was a good idea to lend his lighter to Larry, but she doesn’t want to start anything. After all she doesn’t have the energy for it.

“Are you okay?” Maple asks a couple heartbeats later. Her voice is so soft, almost like a baby blanket that still isn’t worn out. She rests a hand on Ash’s shoulder carefully. “This seems to be really bothering you…”

“Huh?” comes Sal’s voice. He gets up. “Ash, you alright?”

“I’m fine,” she reassures the two, looking up to exchange glances with them both. “I’m fine, I promise.” She smiles through splayed out hands clasped across her face.  


Maple is still for about a minute, then removes her hand from Ash’s shoulder. It feels cold, almost, and Ash wants to feel it again. It was so simple yet it wasn’t, and she wants more of that for some reason. She sighs and sits back up again, resting her chin in her hand.

Sal sits down in the same spot he originally was, looking across to Ash worriedly. “If you’re worried about him, I understand,” he sympathizes. He doesn’t say anymore, probably unable to find words to say what he’s thinking.

A couple minutes pass by, Sal and Todd now suddenly having some conversation about which romcom Todd should take Neil to see. Larry comes back not too shortly later, kicking his leg over the lunchtable bench and sitting down with Sal again, twirling his fingers through one of the male’s pigtails.

“Oh, they’re dating as well,” Maple examines quietly, leaning close to Ash to say it. “I always thought they were just really close friends. But they’re cute together in that way.”

“Yeah,” Ash says, nodding. “I always knew they both had a thing for the other before they started dating. It was so frustrating, so much pining while I was over here, like, get together already you dorks! But I never actually said that.”

Maple chuckles.  _ Ah, so the heavenly sound returns, _ Ash thinks. Her heart keeps a beat yet again and she drums her legs absentmindedly.

“All your friends are so open about themselves and who they are,” Maple says. She looks like she’s about to say something, but stops. Then she adds, “I’m... really happy for them.”

Ash nods again. “Me too,” she says happily.  _ I wish I could be as open as them, though,  _ she thinks, then sighs to herself. She wishes she could say that, but then it’d be hypocritical. And whenever she tries to address it at all, her throat tightens and she can’t get the words out.

Eventually lunch ends. Ash and Maple had shifted through different topics up until now, just kind of unsure of what to really say. Ash wasn’t sure if Maple was also a little nervous around her, seeing as how sometimes Maple would hold her tongue before saying something. It was curious, but Ash wasn’t one to pry at such.

She still insists Maple is a very interesting and kind girl. Despite wearing all dark colors, behind that gothic look hides a very colorful and vibrant personality. She talks about her love for bunnies, talking about how she owns two back at home and she loves them very much. Their names are Marshmallow and Cinnabun and Maple talks about how she just can’t get enough of how soft they feel when she pets them. Ash has never thought much about bunnies but man, now that she knows Maple has two, she wants to learn more just for that.

Maple also talks about how she enjoys reading books in the horror genre, like Stephen King and others. She’s not a fan of horror movies, as they don’t really reel her in as much as the books do. Instead she thinks of them as just a way to visually shock and disturb you and it’s not that much fun for her. She also likes to draw sometimes, but isn’t very good at it. Ash reassures her and says that it doesn’t matter if you’re good at art or not.

The bell interrupts them and rings out loudly, students packing up their things and heading on out of the cafeteria to their next classes. Ash groans in annoyance, silently wishing they had more time, endless time actually. She gets up with Maple and zips her lunch bag closed.

“This was really nice,” Maple says to her. Ash looks up and meets her dark, yet bright-shining eyes. “I wouldn’t mind having lunch with you… guys again.”

Ash blinks a moment later, smiling. “I wouldn’t mind that either.”

They stand there, staring at each other unblinking with soft smiles on both their faces. Maple is the first to break eye contact, grabbing her things. She turns and looks over her shoulder, waving goodbye. “I’ll see you around, Ash,” she says as she walks away.

“Bye…” Ash returns the wave. She sees from the corner of her eye Sal and Larry coming up from behind her, now next to her. Ash looks directly at them, seeing them exchange glances. “What?” she asks innocently.

Sal sighs, pinching the bridge of his mask’s nose. Larry rolls his eyes. “Is she gonna sit with us again at lunch tomorrow?” Larry says through a sigh of his own. He probably wanting to say something else but refrained.

Ash nods. “Yeah, Chug too maybe, I dunno,” she shrugs. “Why?”

“Oh, no reason,” Larry says, waving it off. “I don’t have a problem with it. She seems really chill.”

“She seems to like you, too,” Sal blurts out, getting elbowed by Larry in quick response. He gasps. “Oof! What?! I’m being honest!”

“She’s really cool…” Ash sighs dreamily, not bothering to get upset by Sal’s response. “She has two pet bunnies. I wanna pet them, ‘cause she says they’re really soft. Do you guys know anything about bunnies?” She snaps her head eagerly towards her two friends, who just stare at her in deep confusion.

“Uh… no,” Larry says. “I know they like carrots, that’s it.”

Ash sighs, this time in a playfully annoyed tone, followed by a laugh from Sal.

“They would probably mistake your nose for a carrot,” he jokes through a bunch of snickering. Larry wheezes and ruffles Sal’s bright blue hair.

Sal pushes Larry’s arm off of him. “Ash, you wanna go to that pizza place by the apartments after school?” he asks, looking up at her. “If you’re not busy, that is. And if you’re not too tired after that then we can go to my place and chill for a bit.”

Ash looks down at her friend, thinking about whether or not she has homework. She luckily finished assignments that would’ve been homework tonight earlier this morning, so she’s free. She gives Sal a nod. “Sure, I’m not busy,” she smiles.

“Great!” Sal clenches his fists and shakes them excitedly. “Larry, you gonna come?” He looks up at his tall, lanky boyfriend who shakes his head in polite rejection.

“Can’t,” Larry says. “Got homework myself.”

“Aw shit,” Sal sighs. “Well! That’s fine. It’s always great with Ash.” He looks to Ash with a happy glint in his blue eyes and Ash can tell he’s smiling under his prosthetic.

“I’m gonna skip this afternoon, though,” Larry says, coughing into his arm. “I’m baked already. I don’t want to make it obvious. I’ll fake sick and call home.”

Without waiting for a response, he makes his way out of the cafeteria and heads for the office. Ash looks back to Sal who shrugs, and she hums.

“Guess we better get going, then,” she suggests. “You gonna meet up with me at my locker after?”

“Yeah, sure,” Sal nods. “See ya Ash.”

“Later, Sal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> thanks for reading!!! it means a lot as always. im not going to be posting tomorrow as theres a dance at my school and im going w/ friends. so ill be really busy for the night! and i still have to write ch9 and we're getting closer and closer to that. so if the schedule gets messy or w/e im really sorry,,,school takes away my motivation and i end up not having enough time to get all my ideas sorted. hope u understand!

**Author's Note:**

> thank u for reading!!!! thank u so much.....
> 
> catch me @ my tumblr: cryptidsally


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